Gigadimension Neptunia Kogane Drive
by Ken Law
Summary: My own twist and story on the Neptunia franchise, taking place at the time of Megadimension. Follow Ventus in his quest to find his long-lost sister, and along the way meet up with many of the Neptunia characters, some that you might not know! With an unusual power, and a mysterious origin, how will Ventus find his way to find his sister? R&R, it'd be my pleasure. T for violence.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

* * *

The wind blew to the east, it too blew to the west. The waters in the rivers run towards the north, yet it too surges to the south. The sun shines brilliantly above al existence, yet the sky remains a dark shade of purple, as if no light was there at all.

A world of contradictions. Its name-, no, its existence remains mostly a mystery to most.

But there, standing in a plain of grass, where the winds blew towards and against each other, there stood a single boy.

He stood there confidently, his right arm holding his left wrist carefully. His hair was spiky red, with his eyes gleaming a shade of orange. He wore a simple white shirt and black jeans, ragged and dirty, but intact nonetheless.

His body was that of a teenager, perhaps in his late 18's or 19's. His true age however remains unknown.

Before him stood a mountain, and sitting at the bottom of it, was an entrance into the cave that inhabits within. That cave was his goal.

' _Aah…I want to eat some flan…_ '

It's been a while since he last gorged himself with his favourite food. Well, it was more of a dessert, but he could probably survive for countless days if he just ate flan all day long. Now that's a dream he would love to see happen!

That aside however, pulling out an iron short sword from his scabbard and holding it in his right hand, he took a deep breath and stepped into the cave.

He wasn't carrying a lantern, which would usually spell out death when travelling inside a cave, but this was a world of contradictions, which meant that any place that would usually be light would be dark, and vice versa.

That was why, inside, he stopped himself to stare in wonder and awe at the spectacle of many glowing crystals growing out of the stone walls. The light blue translucent hue it gave the cave an exotic yet dangerous feeling.

Now, normally, inside a cave like this, one would expect some type of bat monster or giant rat or a sleeping dragon, but this was Neptunia, so all logic seems to have taken a leap of faith out of the window.

*Beep boop beep*

Because there, floating slightly above the cold stone floor, was a spherical object, with a black line traced horizontally on its centre, with a camera lens stuck onto it. They called this thing a…'Bit'. What Bit it was, he wasn't quite sure.

No worries though, because while their camera lens thingy could shoot out powerful heat lasers from afar, their detection system was absolute horse crap, so sneaking up on this one stray Bit wasn't quite that hard.

And…*Bam!* With his short sword raised in the air, he brought it down upon the unsuspecting Bit and stabbed through its robotic little core! A short sizzling sound was heard before all of its systems broke and shut down.

Normally, he would love to break this thing apart for its parts and sell it, but not now. He has a mission, and he didn't exactly have a backpack to carry it in anyways. The one he carried got eaten by a dragon he was fighting 2 days ago.

*Beep Beep Beep!*

' _…Oh no…_ '

But, well, just as he was about to leave, the backup system of the dead Bit flared to life and sounded out, calling in for all reinforcements in the vicinity. With a click of the tongue, he made a quick sarcastic remark about dead things before he quickly left.

His mission was to find a conspicuous iron gate in this cave, break it down, search its insides for any clues about the whereabouts of his sister, and then hopefully leave by activating a portal device that was located there.

Let's just hope the device was still there, or else he was screwed.

Oh, and now there're lasers being fired off at him. Great.

The Bit reinforcements have arrived in great numbers and were now tracking him down. Those who have made contact with him fired off lasers from afar. Luckily, their aim was as bad as the stormtroopers, but even stormtroopers can get a hit in sometimes.

Dodging side to side, and occasionally turning around to block an incoming laser attack, he continued running through the cave system to find this damned iron gate. Like, it shouldn't be too hard, right? After all, a damn iron gate should stand out a lot in this situation.

But he's been running for about 10 minutes now, and no signs of the damn gate! It feels like he's been running in circles over and over again, and it was making him dizzy. Either that, or the increased heat from the constant laser fires was making his head fuzzy.

And to make matters worse, just as he was resting.

*BEEP BOOP*

"…Please wait-"

With no regard for his still recovering Stamina Points, the recently appeared giant Bit, one whose size was as big as a small car, turned its 'angry?' camera lens at him and fired a much stronger beam than normal, melting through the stone like its damn butter. He was able to dodge just in time, but his iron short sword got hit in the process and melted near instantly.

"…Hah…There goes my sword…"

But just because his sword was no longer with him, didn't mean his fight was over just yet.

Taking a stance he built on his own, his left foot standing just right behind his right one, he raised his right fist towards the giant Bit, while his left hand remained in his pockets. A moment of quick silence was exchanged between the two, before an armed laser was fired at him once more.

He simply stepped to the right and let the laser miss, melting through the stone beside him. His stance remained unbroken, and his stamina recovered.

With no words, he leaned forward, and charged towards it!

*Bam!*

His feet left the ground with incredible force, even cracking the stone below slightly. Dodging another incoming laser fire mid-run, he readied his fist and sent a strong punch towards it metallic body.

' _…Ouch._ '

But of course, that thing's made of metal, so the only one who got hurt was him in the end. He didn't give up yet though, as he used his left leg to kick the giant Bit back. Once again, his leg ended up getting hurt.

Quickly, he ducked down as another laser beam went flying over his head, cutting though the stone wall, which, judging from some explosion sounds from somewhere, hit a stray Bit or two by accident.

That was perfect however, as he now had a clean and unguarded spot to hit the giant Bit at. Gathering the mana he had into his right hand, a brilliant red flame flared and cloaked his entire right arm. Somehow, his sleeve remains unharmed, but I digress.

He scores another clean punch at the giant Bit, and this time, while it still did hurt his fist a bit, the flame burning on his right arm caused its metal body to melt a bit, creating a slight dent.

Seeing as it was injured, it became 'enraged?', and cancelled its floating device to try to crush the boy underneath it. Sadly, it just took too long to do so, and by the time the giant Bit hit the floor, he was already away, scoring another flaming hit on it.

And again, and again, and again. Hit after hit landed on the grounded Bit, making more and more dents as his fists pounded on the currently immobile Bit. In its desperation, it sounded its alarm system to call for its brethren.

*Beep Beep Beep!* It sounded, which hurt his eardrums a bit, but nothing too major. But he better finish this quickly though, since if he didn't, he'll be fighting an entire legion of laser shooting floating spheres, and that'd be bad.

' _Let's see…I'm on 95%, huh…Meh, that'll do._ '

Seeing as he still had only used up 5% of his entire mana pool, he might as well unleash a quick kill on this big guy. A [Special Move] as they call it.

He raised his right fist into the air, and a blazing fire erupted around his entire arm. This time however, unlike the vibrant red from before, the flame surrounding his arm was a slightly darker shade of red.

' _Urk…Still hurts…_ ' With that one last fleeting thought, he gathered all the flames into his fist, and landed one last hit on the giant Bit's metallic body. The flames from his fist burst out into the giant Bit, roasting its entire being alive, melting everything into a puddle of iron and copper.

A job well done!

That move was called [Hades' Wrath]. Normally, one would shout the name just to sound cooler, but honestly, his special moves all sounded a bit too chuuni for his liking, so he'll just stick with reciting the names in his mind.

And befitting of a special move, with its devastating power, also came a devastating drop in his MP pool. A sad thing indeed, as his MP immediately dropped from 95%, to an astounding 70%. An entire quarter of a hundred!

Anyways, time to move out. Staying here is just inviting himself to fight an army of Bits, so he'll save that grinding montage for some time later.

"…Hmm?"

As he was traversing his way through what seemed to be the same damn route as last time, he saw an odd dent in the cave wall. An almost…man-made dent, created to conceal something.

' _Hide your secret bases better damnit._ '

With that complaint, he raised his left leg, and charged his mana into it, causing a torrent of strong winds to gather around his left leg. Aiming it towards the odd dent, he spun in place, and kicked the odd dent as strongly as he could with his wind-strengthened leg.

*Boom!* The wall went flying back, and there, he saw it. A room made out of metal plating, built precisely and cleanly as to make sure to asymmetry existed. A single light bulb hung in the air, lighting the lifeless room.

Putting his leg down, he took his time and stepped into the room, looking around to see if there was anything of interest, Obviously, that large orange button with a white swirl logo on it at the wall there was suspicious enough, but if he had to take a guess, that's probably the portal device.

Aside from that, there were some notes about some kind of…crystal? He wasn't quite sure, but he couldn't read it, so it didn't matter too much to him. From the looks of it, it didn't have anything to do with his sister anyways, so he'll just leave the papers here.

So, with no further ado, he turned over to the orange button and resting his palm over it, keeping it there but not pushing it. After all, while it might look like a button, this was actually a sensory device, one that only activates if he, or his sister were to touch it.

It's a funny story actually. Her sister loved this logo enough to make it her go-to sign, so anything with this logo would be identified as hers. And to think it all started from a simple wish of wanting to buy a gaming console…ah, how it sure brings back memories.

After about, like, 25 seconds, finally realising that it was indeed him, the white swirl logo on the button lit up, and with it, a portal was made, forming seemingly out of thin air.

Now, if he recalled-

*BEEP BEEP BEEP*

"No time to worry, then. _I'll just hope my legs won't break from this…_ "

With no more intent to stay in this world of damned contradictions, he leapt into the portal, leaving behind nothing as the portal vanished with him.

* * *

It was quite a fine day for the denizens of Gamindustri. The sun was shining brightly, but not overwhelming. The clouds were scarce, letting the light blue of the sky be seen from below. The winds were a nice breezy cold, as the plants and trees danced to the rhythm of the wind.

Overall, a good time to spend for a picnic or two.

But not for Uni! As the CPU Candidate of Lastation, and as a prominent adventurer in her city, she was spending her time going out to hunt a nearby monster that has been harassing new adventurers, scaring them to never again join in the wild.

She was a young girl with attitude, adorned with black hair, tied into two long twin tails by two black and light blue hairclips. Her authentic dress was also in a similar black and light blue colour palate, with her long socks and shoes matching the colour scheme as well, with the only contrast to all of this being her red eyes.

Of course, she wasn't a CPU Candidate and an adventurer if she didn't have any skill in battle. Mainly, she fights her enemies with the self-built rifle she usually carries around, with the occasional use of her hunting knife in close quarter-combat. Well, if the enemy survives to even get close that is.

Her mission today was to hunt a mysterious monster, said to take shape of a camel, yet with the head of a dragon and the speed of a horse on steroids. The reports said that it was found in the mesa-like area she was currently searching in. It wasn't something she wanted to believe in, but with increasing casualties every day, it was high time she stopped ignoring it.

It was then, that she heard a loud noise, like a plane crashing down towards the ground, the wind blowing against it as it fell. Taking out her rifle, she took a step back and put her guard up. If she had to take a guess, that camel monster was the one making all this noise. And judging from the noise it was making, it was probably a strong one!

Suddenly, of high velocity suddenly crashed into the ground several metres away from her. A trail of smoke and dust rose into the air. She took her aim at the dust cloud, trembling from both excitement and anticipation as her finger hovered over the trigger.

Then, a leg came out of the dust cloud, then two, then an entire body, all of them belonging to a…human?

"…Huh?"

Just like that, all her expectation just went sinking to the depths of the Bermuda Triangle. It was one hell of a landing, and all she saw was just some guy in a white shirt!?

Then again, this guy could be a monster in disguise, so she wasn't letting her guard down for even a second.

That is, until she saw his left arm, which was scratched and bleeding all over, unlike his relatively uninjured self.

"A-Are you okay?! You're bleeding!"

"…Huh? Oh, no, I'm totally fine. I mean, I just dropped from the sky and landed here on the ground with no major injuries, so no, I'm fine. Don't worry."

She…wasn't sure if that was sarcasm or not, but he seemed rather serious about that. In fact, it didn't even look like he knew about the injury on his left arm. He was just…staring, blankly into the air, his orange eyes looking slightly dimmer than usual.

"…What are you doing?"

"I'm bandaging you obviously! Don't even try to move yet!"

"…You're helping a complete stranger?"

The boy was rather surprised to see this hospitality from her. From the Gamindustri he knew, there was still much tension between the four major countries, and this was definitely not his home, so he expected to be attacked. But…Suppose times have changed.

But, if there was one thing that hasn't changed, it's the fact that this world was still crowded by monsters.

*Grrrrrrrrrrr*

"T-That's-!"

Before she could finish properly bandaging his left arm, it appeared. With its vicious dragon head, but oddly attached to the body of a camel, she wondered if she should feel afraid, excited, or just laugh from how ridiculous it looked.

Not that she had any time to choose, as the dragon-camel hybrid charged at them with intense speed, closing the gap between them near instantly. She stumbled to take hold of her rifle, but it was too late, as its dragon mouth opened and bit into the injured boy.

Except, its jaw never closed at all.

Moving both hands, even his injured left, he took hold of both ends of its mouth and held it in place, completely stopped its speeding charge. The dragon-camel stepped back in shock, and in that time, he gathered the wind to circle around his left leg, and kicked it back with incredible force, sending it flying into the rock several metres away.

It was also then he finally realised his left arm was bleeding all over.

' _…Too weak._ '

He was disappointed, utterly disappointed. The only thing that he did was shield himself with his left arm by creating a wind barrier to soften the impact. He only made use of his left arm for about 10 seconds or so, and even in that time, his hand was injured this badly. It was too weak.

But contrary to that, Uni thought otherwise.

"A-Amazing…"

She knew from the first moment they met that he wasn't a normal human. After all, for someone to just fall from the sky and land with only his left arm injured was…surprising. But even more, that kick he did, and the wind that surrounded it as he sent that dragon-camel flying…it was incredible.

But there was no time to waste, as the dragon-camel was quick to get back to its feet, before a volley of bullets were fired from her rifle and riddled it all over. She also threw in a special paralysing shot in between her firing, but that didn't seem to be all that effective.

This time, it was the boy's turn to be surprised. He had never seen a weapon shaped like that, and definitely not one that could shoot to injure the enemy from afar. Such an incredible weapon quickly piqued his interest.

Even then, the dragon-camel still stood standing, injured from the kick and the bullets, but standing nonetheless, angered and ready to fight.

"Provide support while I pound that dragon to meat jerky."

"Uh…Sure."

With those words said, the boy charged in with his right hand cloaked in blazing flames. Closing in, the two exchanged a battle of flaming fists and intense kicks, with Uni providing the occasional support fire from afar. Even then, it hardly felt he needed any help from her.

The dragon-camel opened its mouth and fired a string of giant fireballs, but the boy was quick to evade, stepping left and right as the fireballs exploded beside him. As he was evading, Uni shot a quick penetration bullet, just to see how it'll turn out.

Not much happened. The dragon-camel merely stopped firing for a second to recover from the shot. With that time, the boy jumped over the dragon-camel and hit it straight on the head with a wind surrounded left leg, cracking the ground below and sending it crashing into the stone.

The dragon-camel roared in pain, before its head turned over towards him and opened, ready to fire a full powered flame blast at him.

"W-Watch out!"

But her worry was unnecessary, as what happened next was…intense.

Seeing the quickly building flame in its jaws, he charged another quarter of his mana into his left leg, and wind formed to circle around it. But this time, it was much more powerful, like a small tornado spinning around his left leg at high velocity.

He simply pushed harder into the dragon-camel's body, and gathered all the circling wind into the soles of his shoes, before he finally let it all go. The wind exploded out in a violent burst, cutting and bursting through the dragon-camel's body. The [Ares' Chariot], as he called it.

The flames in its jaws sizzled out as the last of its mana. The lifeless head simply tumbled down onto the ground, its eyes no longer shining any life.

"W-Who…are you?"

"Me? I'm Ventus, just an adventurer with a mission."

And so, that day was the beginning of her adventures, where it would lead, she did not know.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

* * *

It was supposed to be a normal day of hunting for out resident CPU Candidate of Lastation, but this simple sounding mission soon became the beginning of her friendship with a mysterious boy who called himself 'Ventus'.

With her sister, Lastation's CPU, gone off for a mission herself, she was left at home, bored out of her mind and alone with Kei, her supervisor. She wasn't unpleasant by any means, but any talk with her just ends up being about politics and business, so she'd rather stay away from her.

So, with a sudden request from the adventurer's guild, she decided to take it upon herself to finish this mission.

After a nice cool bath for the morning, she dried herself and put on her authentic black and light blue dress. She also checked on her phone, just to see if there were any messages from her best friend, Nepgear. Sadly, there hasn't been a single message since a week ago. She was starting to feel lonely, even if she didn't admit that.

With her rifle carried on her back and her hunting knife on her waist, she left the Basilicom, which was the country's main private office, which also served as a home for her and her sister.

As always, even early in the morning, the country of Lastation was already crowded and working. The countless factories stretched out as far as the eye can see, and much smoke and gases leaked into the air, much to her sister's dismay. Despite that, the streets were still clean and hardly anyone dared to litter, since they'll be hit by a hefty sum.

Overall another average day here at Lastation.

Now out of the country and in the wild, she made her way to the mesa-like area several miles away from her country, where this dragon-headed camel lived. The monster sounded absolutely stupid, but many monsters in Gamindustri was dumb looking anyways.

And then, something came crashing down from the sky, and out from the cloud of dust and smoke, came Ventus, his expression nonchalant, even while his left arm was heavily injured and bleeding.

As she went to patch his injuries up however, the dragon-camel appeared, and was quick to charge towards them, but without much help, he moved both his arms to block the attack, and kicked it back with his left leg, wind circling around it as he did so.

The battle soon escalated, with Ventus asking for backup fire as he went in to tackle it head-on, not that he actually needed much help at all. Swiftly, he overwhelmed the beast and crushed it under one of his special attacks, [Ares' Chariot].

And finally, with her voice shaky from shock and awe, she asked for his name, and he answered.

"Me? I'm Ventus, just an adventurer with a mission."

Somehow she doubted that. The power he displayed was amazing, probably even as strong as the CPUs! And the CPUs were the highest of the highest, the strongest of each respective country, wielding power to lead the country towards the right path.

"How about you? What's your name?"

"M-Me? Ah, um, m-my name's Uni."

"Uni…You must be Lastation's CPU, right? I sense share energy within you."

By that point, she went from feeling shocked to being absolutely terrified. Not just that he guessed that she was the CPU, not that it was technically correct, but he also knew that she had share energy inside her. That's not knowledge anyone would just know, especially not an adventurer!

He was suspicious, incredibly suspicious. After all, he came falling from the sky, blocked that dragon-camel's charged easily, destroyed it in a single moment with power as strong as the CPUs, and had knowledge of share energy, the culminations of the people's hopes and faith.

But even then, she could feel no danger or hostility coming from him.

"…Come with me."

No, even then, there was no way in hell was she leaving someone like him out in the open, free to do whatever he wanted. If anything, she needed to make sure first that he wasn't dangerous, and if anyone was good at that, it would be Kei.

"To Lastation you mean? Perfect!-…I mean, great, let's go."

' _…Suspicious…_ '

With those lingering thoughts, she left the mesa-like area behind, and headed back towards Lastation with Ventus by her side.

* * *

Back at the country of Lastation, Uni and Ventus finally made their way into the Basilicom. To his pleasant surprise, the Basilicom was still as boring looking as he recalled it, with some minor renovations in some places.

"Kei! I'm baaack!"

"Huh? Oh, it's just you, Uni…Hmm? And who's that boy beside you I wonder?"

Upon her call, a young woman, with short white hair and blue eyes. She was short for her age, but her eyes held much wisdom inside. She was wearing a formal black coat, with a white shirt underneath and a blue tie to sync with her formal business clothing, the only exception to that style being her short black skirt. Her socks and shoes were exactly like Uni's, black and light blue.

For some reason, she was giving him and Uni a funny look.

"I-It's not like that! G-Go talk to him or something! I'm going to my room!"

And with that, she let out a soft 'Hmph' and left to her room, leaving Ventus behind with Kei staring intently at him, evaluating him. With a soft sigh, she brought him over to one of the vacant tables and sat down with him.

"Sorry for her attitude. She's usually like that. So, what's your name?"

"It's fine. I'm Ventus, an adventurer."

She took a moment to stare at him, her eyes staring piercingly into him. A look he knew well, and was definitely not a fan of.

"So, what do you want to ask?...And what's your relationship to Uni?"

"I fell-…We met in the field, and I was seeking some answers from her. She…Uni is Lastation's CPU, isn't she?"

"That's…close enough. She is this country's CPU Candidate."

CPUs and CPU Candidates. By the citizens, they are hailed as Goddesses, as CPUs are usually women. Each of them holds the ability to harness their people's hopes and faith into a form they call 'Share Energy', their life force of sorts. Without this share energy, they would become weak and sickly, easily prone to physical and mental attacks.

CPU Candidates are simply those that also hold the same powers as the CPU, but do not rule over the country directly. Usually, a candidate is the sister or sibling of the CPU. There are exceptions of course, but that's the minority.

"Where's the CPU?"

"Noire is currently out on a mission. She'll be back in 3 days or so."

' _So her name's Noire…Never heard of her._ '

He didn't really have any plans to meet with the CPU of this nation, but perhaps some extra info from the source directly could help with his mission to find his long lost sister.

"Oh, and have you noticed anything strange lately?"

Now this was the important one. With his 'awakening', his mission to now search for his sister now begins. But with how his sister has been in the past, there was no way things would go so smoothly with her around, especially not with her 'power'.

"Not that I-, actually, from what I've heard, the CPU and the Candidate of Planeptune has gone missing for around 5 days now. Do you know anything?"

"…No, sorry. But thanks for the info."

With all that talk over, Kei leans back on her chair and smiles. It wasn't a smile of happiness of relief, but of politeness, one that someone would use when they're delving in business. Which meant-

"Now…as for you payment…"

"…Sorry?"

That the information he just received was prized. ' _Damn…_ ' He cursed softly to himself, mostly because he didn't even have any credits to hand over to her, and he definitely didn't have anything of value to trade to her.

"I'm a woman of business. Any item I trade needs to be paid back. That's simply how I am."

"…Right. I don't have any credits though. Not like it'll be hard to do, _I can just hunt some Dogoos outside or something_ , but how much do you want?"

Kei placed her hand on her chin and thought for a moment, her smart mind putting into work the best and the most reasonable prize she could ask for. And then, an amazing idea just came flying into her head.

"Actually, I don't need credits. Recently, I've been tinkering to create a…'device', but I'm missing a strong material to use as its casing. I would like you to gather me some hard materials, perhaps a carapace from a monster would work."

When she said 'hard material', the first thing that came to mind was the ore Adamantite, but that ore was long gone, even in his time, and even in the past, it was one hell of a chore to try and fine some. But the immense hardness it had made the trip all the worth.

Last he knew, the search for that damned metal took about 5 years or so, and he's not going to wait that long. He had a different mission after all. But, as she just said, there might be some monster out there with something hard enough to suffice.

Since this was Lastation, then _that_ monster should be around that area and…yep, if his memory served him right, there should be a monster carrying something hard enough to even tank a package of 20 dynamites in one go. That should work.

* * *

"Stupid Kei…always being weird…"

Meanwhile, inside the bedroom of a certain black-haired girl, Uni was busy venting herself into her pillow, shouting and occasionally hitting it with her delicate fists.

She didn't really want to go back to her room, but as always, she failed to control how she acted, and by the time she got into her room, just appearing suddenly would just be awkward, and Kei, who was already worried sick about how she was, would just sigh even more.

Just recalling that sly look on her face when she returned with Ventus by her side was just…it was just annoying.

But, it's been about 15 minutes now, and their small talk was probably over. She could just imagine Kei sitting by her usual work table, sipping tea as she worked on the many papers she needed to fill in, and maybe continue her work on that 'device' of hers in her free time.

Taking a deep breath, she got off her bed and left the room, walking back to the main lobby of the Basilicom. There, all she saw was Kei, sitting alone at a table, drinking some tea as she read over a report that had just gotten sent in several minutes ago. Ventus was nowhere to be seen.

"Kei? Where did Ventus go?"

"Oh, finally back. He's out on an errand."

"An…errand?"

Her confusion was showed clear on her face, but Kei wasn't inclined to reply. She simply took a quick sip from her tea, put down the cup, and signed the papers before setting it down on the table, messaging her temples in preparations for another long read.

The job of the supervisor wasn't exactly a pleasant one.

Now, all they could do was wait for Ventus to come back. Of course, since Uni didn't get a clear answer as to where he went, she simply assumed he got what he wanted and left, which made her slightly annoyed, but she was convinced that it was due to her own attitude.

Little did they know, that this 'errand' of his turned out to be an entire day long.

The next day quickly arrives, and still, Ventus wasn't back. Kei was beginning to wonder if he even followed on his promise. If he didn't, then…well, it's annoying, sure, but the questions he asked was simple and general, so him getting angry at her was reasonable enough.

But then, just as she was in the process of making her morning tea, she heard someone knock on the Basilicom doors. It was unusual for someone to come this early, heck, the sun wasn't even awake yet.

Worried that they were assassins in disguise(she's seen several in her life as a supervisor), she took hold of her specially-crafted short sword and made her way towards the door. She put her guard up…that is, until she saw through the glass that it was Ventus waiting on the other side, idly waiting for the doors to be opened.

Seeing as she was worried for nothing, she sighed and set her short sword down. She finally opened the door after that and let Ventus in, much to his relief.

As expected, he didn't exactly return cleanly. Wherever he went, he returned with his white shirt dirtied and even ripped in some places, his black jeans dusty, and his left arm still bandaged with the one Uni did on him.

Oh, and he was carrying a big white bag on his back.

"…You're back. Took you quite long."

Ventus simply sighed and shrugged his shoulders, finally letting down the large white bag he's been carrying for several hours now. And the fact that he could only use his right side to carry the bag didn't help, at all.

But, the errand.

As was promised, he reached into the white bag, and pulled out two different things. A torn-off scale of what seems to have been a large snake, and a… purple turtle shell?

"Here. Take these. Those two are both tough, so choose them to your liking."

At the moment her fingers came in contact with the scales, her eyes went wide-open, shocked. This sleek, yet tough feeling, as if this scale was near-unbreakable. The reflections of the lights from the lighting above.

It was of extremely high quality. And…well, the turtle shell was also pretty tough, but…well, it just looked slightly disappointing, so this snake scale was already way more than enough.

"Where…did you find this?"

"…A man has his secrets."

And the fact that Ventus denied giving her an answer only proved to heighten her curiosity for such an exquisite material. If she could get a line of this scale going, the industry will improve drastically. But, then again, she might be thinking a bit too far.

' _Actually…that bag…_ '

Perhaps she forgot to take notice due to her morning wake, but now that her focus was back on, she wondered what was actually in that bag. After all, he could've just left it at the place he found this scale to speed up the process. Yet, he still carried it, all they way here.

"D-Don't tell me-!?"

C-Could that entire bag contain an entire package of scales!?...And maybe some of those purple turtle shell around? If so, whatever snake he killed must be quite…proportionate.

"It's as you guessed. Well, I suppose I'm-"

"W-Wait. I, uh, well…"

As a business woman, she wasn't afraid to take her chances and dive into the deep end to get what she wanted. Now that Ventus had the knowledge that Noire was the CPU, and the knowledge of where she could find this amazing material, there was no way she could just let him go!

But if he knew that, he'd instantly declined. In fact, he could already feel a shiver crawl up his spine from that brief outburst of hers.

Until he realised that the shiver he felt wasn't from Kei.

' _…!?_ '

As someone who likes to travel, he relies quite a bit on his intuition to carry him through. Due to that, his instincts have been polished for quite a while, turning it into a sharp weapon he could use in battle, or outside.

It isn't perfect, not by a long shot. But it was good enough to signal to him if something bad, like REALLY bad was happening.

*Beep…Beep…Beep…*

"Hmm? Who is…N…Noire?"

Looking at her phone, she saw that Lastation's CPU, Noire, had just left a voice message for her, exactly 17 seconds ago. She raised an eyebrow, mostly because she knew that Noire was not someone who would do that. Her pride was quite troublesome.

With some scepticism lingering, she clicked the message and listened.

"Hah…Hah…Kei, it's me. I…Damnit, they're *BOOOM*, damnit. They're already here. Just-, c…me t…Gi…a…na m…nta…n-"

The voice was that of a young woman's, her voice sounding to be quite sassy and to the point. But none of those traits could be heard, only the sound of fatigue and a soft sigh as an explosion coloured the scene.

The message fizzled out soon after that, with a sound of another explosion, finally knocking the message out. Clearly, it was a help message. Asking her to go where, Kei didn't know, but nor did she care. Her hand was already holding onto her short sword, and she was already charging towards the exit.

"You're just going to charge out there? Do you even know where to go?"

It was a foolish decision, to just charge out there blindly. After all, this Noire didn't exactly leave out much details as to where it was, she couldn't even mention the name correctly as the message fizzled out before she could do so.

That is, if you're talking about a normal person.

Kei here was a business woman, and a smart one at that. While she hides some things from others, even her own superiors and Noire, she does so with good intentions. And right there, at Noire's phone, she implanted a location chip, so she could track where she last was.

"Of course. Gihanna Mountain, a place located close to where Noire went to for her mission. Now move."

She hated stubborn people, hence why she gets along quite badly with Noire and Uni. She was already prepared to charge through with force, but Ventus was quick to follow.

"Let me join. I…have a bad feeling about this."

"…I feel the same way."

And so, while the day before was the start of his and Uni's friendship, today, and their mission to follow, serves as an appetizer to what their intertwining fates may uncover.

With her short sword in hand, and Ventus' right fist clenched and ready, they went out the Basilicom and headed straight for Gihanna Mountain.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

* * *

The Gihanna Mountain, a large mountain located south from where Lastation was. While it in itself didn't hold anything special, nor was there any interesting things around it, but legends once said that this mountain was created by a God who wished to decorate the area around his home with many environmental wonders, and this mountain was said to be one of them.

Nowadays, people simply see to it as a normal mountain, but while to the untrained eye it seemed normal, to someone like Ventus, an adventurer who was polished his skills over the decades, this mountain was clearly something special.

Oh, by the way, Ventus and Kei finally made it to the mountain, and are now trying to find a way in.

Back on topic, from what he could see, this entire mountain, from the bottom to its peak, was filled with incredible amounts of mana. It wasn't coming from a natural source, like a mana fountain for example, but it was just…there.

And due to this intense concentration of mana, special plants and herbs have taken a liking to this place an grew wonderfully. While it looked normal from the outside, and even after testing nothing seemed too out of place, each plant living here is packed with buckets of mana. So much so, that it's actually quite scary.

If the people of Lastation managed to find a way to cultivate this stuff, they'd be the strongest and wealthiest country in this entire world, but alas, the monsters living in this place also took a liking to its mana, which also meant that each monster here was quite strong.

They actually met some of them on their mission to find the entrance. Once they arrived, they were attacked by a group of purple Dogoos, and-. Oh, for exposition, Dogoos were slime-like creatures, with a toony eye and smile, and a doggy tail attached to its back for some reason.

Normally, they were just cannon fodder, but no way in hell these were just starting meals! Each of their strikes or charges was able to tear apart a tree or two, and a hit from them would easily send any men flying with no regards for environment safety.

It was a scary specimen.

Another one was this frog, standing on two legs, with two small glowing daggers in its hands. It moved and hopped like a frog, but its agility, technique, and skill was that of a veteran Samurai. Heck, one of them was even wearing a Kasa, or a hat.

Also like the Dogoos, a single strike from their blades sent the rocks and dirt flying.

But while it was an ordeal to fight their way through in such an early time, he came to know that while Kei was a business woman at heart, she was also an experienced fighter. Her blade moved elegantly through the air, slicing and blocking the attacks coming towards her. At times, she does fall short on her strength, but overall, she was an excellent fighter.

Eventually, after about 42 minutes of randomly running around, they managed to find an almost hidden passage through some bushes. Their branches had the durability of steel, but a couple kicks from a wind-surrounded leg cleared the way. They quickly entered.

"Hah…hah…hah…"

While the way in was found, they sure spent way too much energy just trying to get in. By the time they got into the cave, Kei was breathing heavily and sweating all over. And while Ventus was in a much better state, the stacking fatigue from last night was starting to affect his focus.

But they had no time to dawdle around. Noire was in danger, and for something to defeat the ruler of a damn country, it must be quite strong.

"Are you alright? Need me to carry you?"

"Hah…Quiet…hah…I, don't need your…help…hah…"

"Sure enough. I'll just princess carry you out if things get hairy."

He said so in a joking manner and with the smuggest face he could pull off, but when the time comes, he will seriously do that. Even if she shouts at him and puddles his face into a bath of mud thereafter, he's not letting a fellow accomplice die, especially someone as talented as her.

And as Kei sighs and turns away, the cave opens up, and the miracle that exists inside was finally shown.

"What…hah…is this…place…?"

It was a space of emptiness, with only several bridges of light crossing and intersecting with each other to create a twisty path towards…wherever it goes. The ceiling and the floor of this place was nowhere to be seen, and the place was lit by a surreal neon lighting. This also happened to be the place where Noire's last location was known.

And this happens to be a place Ventus was very familiar with.

"A god's domain…huh. Didn't expect to see one here."

"A…hah…God's domain…?"

"It's a god's base, their home I guess."

There was more to it of course, but he didn't feel a need to explain further about it. Besides, the age of gods seems to have been over quite a long time ago. The influence of gods could hardly be seen anymore.

Without another word said, the two went on, travelling across the light bridges towards their unseen goal, the centre of this entire plane.

It was uncannily silent, empty even. There were monsters galore out from here, but once they were inside, it's as if they passed through into another world.

As they got deeper, the air felt heavier, the mana in the air getting even denser than it already was. Normally, it wouldn't do much, but hell, this was a god's domain, anything can happen in this reality bending space.

"Ugh…!"

With Kei already being fatigued as she is, added with the extra pressure of the dense mana, she collapsed onto the bridge, her face pale and breathing heavily. Sweat was pouring out of every area, her eyes growing blank and dull.

"What…are you…?"

"Carrying you. Something wrong?"

And as promised, when things finally got hairy, for Kei at least, Ventus swooped her up in his arms and carried her, princess style too. Kei pouted in annoyance, but as her entire body felt like lifting an entire nation with an arm, she had no extra strength to reply.

Thankfully, Kei was quite small, so carrying her even with one arm wouldn't be much of an expense. Her took up her short sword and tied it around his waist, just in case he needed to fight. Her really hoped he didn't need to though.

With Kei in his arms, Ventus continued his walk, slowly crossing over the light bridges towards the centre. Well, being honest, he wasn't even sure Noire was still here. But by the chance that she was, she'll probably be at the centre.

And if she wasn't, then…well, you can guess.

Although it is strange, knowing that this place was still being kept alive, despite no gods being here to inhabit it. The atmosphere of this place was also quite…strange. It was, divine, but not in a good way.

Finally, after many jumps, turns, and annoyed grumps from a weakened Kei, they finally made it to the centre, which was just a large flat floor of solid light. A weird sight to say the least.

But you know? The fact that there was someone else here, wearing a mouse hoodie with…well, mostly nothing but a small sports bra and black shorts underneath. On her back, one would see an iron bat, painted black for some weird reason.

She had neck-length light green hair, with striking, yet also cowardly red eyes. Although covered by the hoodie, she wore a black choker around her neck and her ears were slightly pointy.

Ah, and her skin was also slightly purple for some reason.

There's also the fact that she was standing there without much trouble at all, while Kei was slouched over in his arms, sweating all over from the pressure this area gave out. Hell, even he was starting to have trouble standing without shaking.

"Hey, you there, checking the scenery?"

"Wah!? W-What-, w-who are-!?"

"Speak correctly."

Well, despite all that, she was still human…even if only half human. Not sure what her other half is, but that didn't matter. Right now, she was holding a very suspicious looking crystal in her hand.

And if he could take a guess, that thing's probably a mana crystal, one formed from the dense air of mana in the surrounding area. But even more than that, it's too clear, too clear to be natural at least.

"H-Ha! I-I am a-a proud underling of my mistress Arfoire! D-Don't take me l-lightly!"

"…right."

It sure was quite odd that she was so proud of calling herself an underling of her mistress. That's…not something anyone would normally do. Happened to make him wonder if there was more to their relationship than just servant and mistress.

But…Arfoire, huh…That's an…'interesting' name.

"Hey, girl, put that crystal down, and I'll spare you. Don't make me fight."

Is what he said, but he was already pulling out Kei's short sword and pointing it at her. That threat seems to have spooked her quite a bit, but in her moment of shock, she managed to take hold of her iron bat and stand her ground.

' _Brave._ ' Was the one thing he thought as he looked at her, her eyes filled with resolute determination. Whoever she was, she'd have to praise her for that.

"I-I'm not scared, n-not at all! Come a-and fight me, y-you-!"

And that's exactly what he did. With his short sword ready, he charged in and swung his sword down, just barely blocked by her last ditch move. That did give him time to kick her and knock her down, sending the crystal she was just carrying out from her grip and down into the void.

As a nice bonus, he cloaked his left leg with wind and kicked the iron bat out from her hands, along with a quick punch to send her flying back-

But as soon as he did that, her figure glitched out and disappeared, so did the iron bat he kicked earlier. ' _Illusion, huh._ ' Thinking that, he tied his sword back to his waist and followed after the fleeing rat, who was making her way back towards the same entrance they went through.

It was also quite surprising to see Kei softly snoring as she slept in his arms, carried along as he rushed across the light bridges. A nice cute display, if he had to say so himself.

Meanwhile, on the fleeing's side, the girl was frantically running away, her mind in complete disarray as she rushed towards the exit.

See, while she is a subordinate under a 'criminal organisation' as her peers called it, she was, as she claimed herself, an underling, simple cannon fodder. The only thing she was good at was illusion magic and running, with sensing immediate threat being her side-talent.

And she knew for god damn sure, that that man chasing her right now was no joke. If he wasn't carrying that girl in his arms, she would've been dead before she could apply her illusions and make a tactical retreat.

Well, not that it mattered anyways, because as she soon found out-

*BOOOM!*

"W-What!?"

From far behind, Ventus used up another quarter of his mana and kicked the ground using his [Ares' Chariot], sending him flying into and charging towards the entrance at immense speeds.

Fun thing being is, while his little sister loved him doing that, his big sister wasn't too keen on that idea, and did everything she could to make him not to that, which only served to make him want to do it more. Ah…Fun times.

Anyways, somehow landing safely on the light bridge, he turned around to face an approaching underling and blocked the path towards the entrance.

"Oh shi-"

Her vision went black straight after.

* * *

"Hu…hyua…?"

And by the time she awoke, she found herself lying on a bed, facing against a ceiling she had never seen before. Obviously, this place wasn't the god's domain from earlier, but this wasn't her base either.

There wasn't a single thing in this room, aside from her bed, a random table, and a wooden chair. There were no windows, no natural sunlight. Only a single light bulb was lit, hanging above her.

Where…was this?

"Finally awake, huh? Quite a beauty sleep you had there."

"!?"

It was a voice she could never forget. The voice of a man that screamed death. By instinct, she tried to recoil and jump out, but her limbs failed to move an inch, soon realising that her hands and legs were chained up to the ends of the bed.

Closing the book he had been reading, he placed the book down atop the table beside him and slowly walked over to the chained down underling. Her face slowly twisting in fear, as his face drew closer and closer, his piercing orange eyes staring right at her.

Smiling softly, he pulled a nearby chair close and sat down beside her bed.

It was time to begin the interrogation.

"I-I won't tell you a-anything! B-Bring it o-on!" She shouted as bravely as she could, but even then, Ventus could tell that there was no courage in her eyes. Tears were slowly building up, her tension rising to a crescendo.

"Sure you won't. Now, what's your name?"

Her mouth remained petrified in fear, not that she had any intentions of answering him anyways. He merely sighed at her silence and moved on.

"What is your purpose?"

More silence. She didn't have the least intention of answering him at all.

"Hah…"

' _This was pointless._ ' He thought. While a weakened Kei said that he should use every method at his disposal to get her to speak, torture wasn't much to his liking. So, with no qualms about her leaving, he cloaked his right hand with fire and chopped off all four chains, freeing her.

"W-Wha…?"

Standing up, he took back the book from earlier and sat back down, continuing his read from the latest chapter he read. The girl simply looked at him, shocked and confused.

"Don't bother trying to leave. This room is secluded underground, and it's locked from the outside. Your magic and little tricks won't work here. Just tell me if you want to chat though, I'll do my best to entertain you."

And so, the girl pointlessly struggled for hours, bashing the door with her fists and legs to try and pry it open. But with the door made out of titanium and the lock made with the finest technology of the most-advanced country in Gamindustri, trying to break out was dream among a dream.

With her energy wasted and her fists swollen, like, really swollen, she sighed in defeat and sat back down at the bed, eyeing the Ventus that was still nonchalantly reading the novel in his hands. He seems to be…bored of it. He wasn't smiling or enjoying it at all.

"So, i-is this your p-plan? To trap me h-here?"

This time, it was his turn to not answer, his focus still remaining on the novel he was reading.

"H-Hey! Don't i-ignore me!"

"Didn't you ignore me earlier? Do to others as you want them to do to you."

Their words said, the two remained in silence once more, none of them willing to talk. They remained there, for what felt like hours on end, just sitting there, doing nothing, saying nothing.

After a while, she ceased to care that a being that could strike her down in mere nanoseconds was sitting in the same room as her. She tapped her feet to an unheard beat, maybe start counting imaginary sheep in her head, and hum a tune Arfoire once sang for her.

"Arfoire's Lullaby, isn't it? That's a nostalgic one, makes me want to go to sleep and maybe unlock the door by accident."

"Y-You know the song!?"

"Yeah. She used to sing it to me when I was-…she sang it to me long ago."

"You know Arfoire!?"

More and more questions were just getting piled up, one after another. Who was this man? She couldn't recall seeing a single trace of him in Lastation's database, or any other country's database for that matter.

Why was he so strong? Why did he unlock her chains? Why wasn't he directly trying to get answers from her? Why did he know Arfoire?

He was a man of mysteries, she could say that for certain.

But this was perfect. Now that the girl was back in talk-mode, asking some questions to her might prove more fruitful than before.

"I'll ask again. What's your name?"

She wouldn't answer him, she just wouldn't. Doing so would just expose herself, and that'd lead to more trouble than it's worth. But…He said that she used to sing that Lullaby to him. D…Didn't that mean that he and Arfoire were close in some way?

"…Linda."

"Linda. Cute name."

She wasn't sure if he was just trying to flatter her or not, but it sounded genuine enough for her to feel slightly embarrassed about the compliment.

"What's your…no, what is Arfoire to you?"

"I…She's, my mother."

That…would explain her looks. From what he remembered, Arfoire wasn't exactly human, with her skin being light purple and her ears being more akin to that of an elf. Well, elves are a long extinct species, but I digress.

"I see. Was she nice to you? She didn't train you until your muscles started tearing apart, did she?"

"N-No? W-Why would she?"

"…Just a thought."

With the last page of the novel read, he closed the book and gently placed it on the bed, sighing as he kicked back, his back feeling a bit sore from sitting too much.

"So, what were you trying to do. Before getting kidnapped that is. Or, will you not answer again. Not that you need to. I can guess."

"Huh…?"

"Ma-…Arfoire's…dead, isn't she?"

"…"

He was right. He was completely right. That was the reason for joining that 'evil organisation' and gathering mana and share energy from the CPUs. She needed more energy, enough to finally bring her back to life.

She didn't like being reminded of that. Of how she saw her being killed, right before her eyes.

"But…I can't let you out yet. Uni will just kill you on the spot. So, as I said, if you want to have a chat, I'll do my best to entertain you."

By this point, Linda was beginning to wonder what side he was truly on. But, for the first time since hours, she witnessed a small smile blossoming on his face, motivated by the fact that he'd just found the daughter of someone he was quite fond of.

"Oh, and I'm Ventus. Nice to meet you. Hope we get along."

With that, a new relationship between Linda and Ventus was born. With Ventus keeping her on watch now, surely her life had just gotten way more interesting. But, that's for another time.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

* * *

 _So…No clues in the end, huh._

Previously, after Ventus had successfully captured Linda and brought her in for questioning, he later asked her what her reason was, which later revealed that she was trying to resurrect Arfoire, her mother.

As he too knew about Arfoire, an odd but entertaining relationship bloomed between the two, as Linda was still technically Kei's and Uni's enemy for kidnapping Noire, but in all honesty, he didn't have much of an opinion on her.

She was the daughter of someone quite close to him. That's all.

After he inquired about Arfoire and how Linda planned to bring her back, he asked her if he knew anything about his sister. In terms of looks, she looked quite similar to him. Same spiky red her, same orange eyes, just with a more serious and less joking attitude.

Sadly, she didn't have any info on that, which was a shame, but whatever. Finding someone after he waited _that_ long was bound to be quite hard.

With one last promise that he'll help her bring back Arfoire, he handed her the same novel he read from start to finish while waiting for her, in assumption that she'd quickly get bored, and left the room, locking the door behind him as he went out.

Oh, as for how the locks worked…He…wasn't too sure actually. All he knew that all authorised personnel, ones who had been given access by either the CPU or Kei, were able to open the door by simple finger-print reading, and locks immediately after he goes out. It's quite a marvel of engineering.

Heading up the stairs, he was confronted with a ray of sunlight, pouring in from the many windows in this hall leading towards the lobby room. It's already afternoon apparently.

The sun was slowly setting, heading towards beyond the horizon. The skies were slowly being painted yellow, the clouds dispersing as sunset was nearing. The birds in the sky flew around happily, the released gasses from the factories disappearing as factories closed down for the day.

Seems like he spent quite a long time with Linda. Not that it mattered much to him.

Walking past each window, the sunlight painting over his clothing, he made it to the door and went through, the lobby room still as silent as ever.

Kei was in the kitchen doing…something? Uni was currently out of the Basilicom, and hardly any guards were stationed inside the building, as they weren't needed in the presence of the Basilicom's superior detection and security.

It was a peaceful, tranquil silence, one that gave him time to think for once. It's only been a couple days, and so much had already happened.

He just escaped from that weird world last time around, he met up with Uni, met Kei, killed Oroboros to gather his scales, rushed into a god's domain, rescued Kei and brought Linda in for investigation.

And still, no news on his sister.

"…"

He sat down by at a nearby table, crossing his legs and resting his back against the chair. Thinking about it, he hadn't slept in two days, which would definitely explain why his body was feeling heavy.

Exhaustion was slowly catching up, his muscles relaxing, and his eye lids growing heavy. He could tell. Any second now, he'll definitely fall asleep.

He willingly closed his eyes, and had his first rest since his awakening.

* * *

"Nn…"

His entire body was sore. While he didn't mind it, sleeping in an up-right posture was the worst. His back gets all sore and it feels quite challenging to actually stand up. Although it was surprisingly warm-

"Ah."

No wonder. Looking down, he saw that a grey fluffy blanket had been placed atop his sleeping self, keeping him warm despite the cooling temperatures. He wondered who placed it here, but as Uni was still out, he could only guess that Kei came in at some time and put it on him.

A nice gesture of her. Hopefully she doesn't charge him credits for this act of kindness.

Judging from where her mana was coming from, Kei was in the…dining room, maybe? He wasn't quite sure. He didn't have an actual tour around this place after all, Kei just told him where things were in this place.

With great power and effort, he finally forced himself to stand up, cracking some bones as he stretched his sore body. The warmth of the blanket left him, as he neatly folded it up and placed it atop the chair.

Looking out from one of the few windows in the lobby, the sky outside was near dark, with stars twinkling and a crescent moon glowing in the dark of night. He sure slept like a log, even while sitting on a chair.

Oh, it was also a nice touch that his huge white bag, the one he brought in filled with scales and purple turtle shells, was still lying besides the wall. Not a single item has been stolen.

 _Maybe I'll give her another scale or two, as a present for not stealing anything._

He chuckled slightly at the thought, picturing how Kei would look with a childish smile on her face from the intense happiness, as he walked towards the dining room. Not to eat, but just to meet with Kei, to discuss his newly gained information.

*Knock, knock*

"Hmm? Come in."

As they say, manners cost nothing.

He opened the door and walked in, yawning slightly as he looked over at Kei, who was working hard at her job, reading through and filing the needed reports, and trashing any that did not help to build this country.

"Finally awake. So, do you have any clues to her whereabouts?"

"Straight to interrogation, huh? Sorry to say, but no clues on where your Noire is, but I've got other interesting news."

He pulled the chair opposite to hers and sat down, taking a deep breath before he continued.

"Her name is Linda. She plans to use your CPU, and probably the other 3 as well, to resurrect her mother, Arfoire."

"What did you say!?"

Kei stood up and slammed her table, the files she'd neatly gathered spreading out once again. It was childish of her, but her CPU and consequently, this nation was at risk of falling. If Arfoire gets revived again…Who knows what'll happen.

"She, and her comrades will use Negative Crystals to influence the CPUs and turn them to Negative Energy Cores. Using that, they'll bring back Arfoire."

In simpler terms, they were going to sacrifice the four Goddesses of Gamindustri to bring back someone who caused major destruction several years ago, Arfoire, also known as the 'Reverse Goddess'.

Back then, the CPUs and their companions struggled under her attacks, having forced to split their forces to protect their own countries, and fighting her at the same time. They eventually won, but it took quite a lot of luck and time to finally catch her off-guard and take her down.

With one of the CPUs missing, and with Noire taken, their army has been severely crippled. And seeing as they were able to take Noire out, defeating and kidnapping the remaining two CPUs didn't seem like too much of a stretch.

This was bad. Extremely bad.

Now that Noire was gone, Uni needed to be the one to step up and protect Lastation. But…She was too young, and her way of thinking was still that of a young child.

But at the same time, if the other two CPUs get kidnapped, this world's done for. All that remained from that, was the choice of protecting her country, or leaving to try and inform the other two CPUs about this to try and prevent Arfoire's resurrection.

"I…"

She…She didn't know what to do. She may be a businesswoman, but she was no ruler. She never made decisions that had enough impact to literally save the world. That was Noire's job, not hers.

"-plan to go to Lowee and tell the CPU there about this. Did I get that right?"

"N-No…but…No, you're right."

He's seen through her completely.

She was the one being childish. Uni's been through a lot too. She saved her sister from the hands of evil once already and she's done and learnt enough to also be ranked among the CPUs. Between all the CPU sisters, she could be regarded as one of the strongest.

Well, that depends whether or not she has enough ammo stocked up.

"Ah, but don't hate Linda for this. She's just trying to revive her mother. Don't be too hard on the girl, yeah?"

"…Wait, that girl in the basement is Arfoire's daughter!?"

"Heard me right. Don't go hurting on her, 'kay? I'm indebted to her mother, so it'll be bad for her daughter to get harassed and all. _She'll probably dig me into the ground and create a mountain over me again…_ "

"You know Arfoire!?"

Woah, woah. Too many things were being revealed at the same time, Kei was not catching up with this at all! First, Linda, that girl they caught was Arfoire's daughter, and now Ventus' also a friend of hers!? What's going on!?

"She's my m-…she's an old friend of mine."

"I…I'll do my best."

It was rare for her to stutter, but when she does, you can be damn sure that her mind was going haywire. Her image of who Arfoire truly is was crumbling quite quickly.

With that done, Ventus stood up and excused himself, saying that he'll go to the spare room Kei lent to him and sleep for the first time in a couple days. Besides, tomorrow, they'd need to leave early to avoid unneeded trouble, so-

"Ah."

She…She forgot to ask him if he was hungry or not. He hasn't come up once in his time talking with Linda, so surely he was hungry. Well, what's done is done. She'll just save her cooking skills for tomorrow's breakfast then.

"Aah…How troublesome."

Was what came out of her mouth, but in all honestly, she was quite excited to do this. As Lastation's supervisor, she didn't have many chances to leave the country, if at all actually. She'd just been stuck in here, working day and night to maintain this country.

She enjoyed her work, sure, but even she had times when she felt burnt out from the job and needed some nice vacation. This…wasn't exactly a vacation, but an adventure could suffice.

With that last fleeting thought, she leaned back against her chair and closed her eyes. All the reading was making her eyes hurt.

She did end up sleeping though.

* * *

"Ngh…? What did I…"

-Ah, I ended up sleeping again. Was what she would've said if she wasn't half-awake. Still somewhat stirring from her sleep, she slowly opened her eyes, her boyish white hair obstructing her eyes.

Brushing them aside, she slowly rose from her seat, feeling a warmth leave her as a blanket fell to the ground-

' _A…blanket?_ ' It was somewhat of a surprise to her, seeing herself being covered by a blanket while she was asleep. Of course, as the supervisor, she had the most power in command, only second to the CPU that is.

So she was a reliable woman, and no one really pampered her for…anything really.

And with the kinda rocky relationship she has with Noire and Uni, such a simple act of kindness was quite unusual.

That is, until she noticed a small yellow note attached to her table.

'I'm returning this blanket to you. Thanks for last night.'

Seeing as she knew not of this kind of handwriting, she could only infer that it was Ventus that gave her the blanket. Then again…for a man, his handwriting was quite neat, even written in curves.

As they say, don't judge a book by its cover.

Picking up the blanket and folding it up neatly, she placed it down on her chair and walked out, her eyes moving toward the watch on her hand. It was still early morning, the skies still dark and the country still asleep.

The tranquil sparkles of the stars in twilight was a painting worth of beauty. The dark glittering skies unobstructed by any clouds. No smoke or gasses, no pollution floating up into the atmosphere. Just, an empty tranquillity.

Walking along, she made it to the lobby room, where, there was no one inside. The lights were still on, as they always were, and the many little devices dotted all around the room were still active, but nevertheless, no one was inside.

Ventus didn't seem to be inside eith-

"Oh? Finally awake, huh? Least you don't need to cover your face with makeup to look pretty."

Just as she was thinking that, the entrance door suddenly opened, and in came Ventus, his hand eagerly holding an object covered in white cloth. Also, she wasn't sure if that was a compliment, but she'll take it as one.

"When…did you wake up? It's still 4 a.m."

"Hmm? I wake up a 3, something wrong?

"…Never mind."

It's nice to know that someone was still willing to wake up before 5 a.m., because everyone she meets enjoys their beauty sleep quite endearingly. It was a problem if anything was to happen at these times, but that's just how things were apparently.

It'd also be nice if Uni could wake up without her alarm for once.

Anyways, that all aside, judging from the shape of the object in his hand, it was probably some kind of sword, a short sword most likely. She did see him wielding her short sword with quite some skill, so he might also be a short sword wielder just like her.

"Interested in this? Wanna take a look?"

"…I'll take that chance."

…He has a good eye as well. With some enthusiasm, she took the item from his hands and unwrapped the cloth around it.

And…Well, it was a short sword, she's right on that at least, but…wow.

No, even 'awe' and 'surprised' couldn't encapsulate just what she was feeling staring into the short sword she was holding.

It was a curved blade, forged out of some purple-coloured material. Its hilt was made out of normal spruce wood, glossed over with some paint to keep it fresh.

In terms of shape and size, it was similar to a short sabre. But it was also quite thick, yet still sharp. It was obvious that he kept in mind the fact that swords could also break, and probably had the sword made somewhat thick to make it more durable.

But…even after all that, something just didn't feel right.

As someone who worked with a lot, and I mean **a lot** of technology, she's learnt to distinguish between what was good and what was great, her intuition in a sense. She could tell with a touch if something was amiss or not.

And this blade…it was too durable. Guessing from the colour, it was probably made with a mix of that scale he gathered and that weird purple turtle shell he got. Those two were already incredibly hard.

This one? It could probably rival against some of the CPU's personalised weapons, weapons created from their souls and shaped to their specific desires. If he said that this was some sort of national treasure or family heirloom, she'd be convinced.

"How is it? My old one melted completely, so I made a new one for myself. Even added in some enchantments to it to keep it strong. Not sure how long it'll last though."

' _Are you joking me?_ ' He said so as if 'creating' this wasn't that hard at all. Heck, he did say that he made one, but did he seriously forge this himself?! No blacksmiths in Lastation could probably make a legend like this!

"Well, I'm ready to go now, how about you? Got all your briefcases ready? Just don't bring so many, don't want to slow us down."

He said so as he took back the sword and put it back into the scabbard tied to his waist, the sword cleanly sliding in. As he said, she did have a briefcase ready, except it was a floating suitcase that follows her around. She wondered what his shocked face would look like as she stormed off into her room.

Everything packed and ready, she activated her briefcase and let it follow her around, and-

…And since Uni was still sleeping in her room, she sneakily opened the door to her bedroom and stuck a sticky note onto the door, to make sure that she sees that on her way out. She also made sure to say that Ventus was with her. The girl's already getting high blood pressure from all the worry for her sister, another added load would be unneeded, yeah?

Closing the door, she yawned softly and went back to the lobby room, where Ventus and Linda-

"…Huh?"

"Oh? Did I forget to tell you? She'll be travelling with us as well. I do have a debt to repay after all."

By this point, Kei realised that Ventus wasn't just abnormal, he was also a nutball. Well, more like a ditz with attitude, but a nutball nonetheless.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

* * *

"You know, don't you get hot wearing that business shirt the whole time?"

"Those sword techniques…could they be self-taught perhaps? Your balance is still unsteady."

"When did you start working as a supervisor anyways? I'm guessing it's really boring, just sitting there behind a desk just finishing paperwork."

Kei wasn't much of a social person, but she could at least reply and hold her own ground in a conversation. And having these occasional talks with Ventus was a nice way to break the ice.

But the fact that he did so while fighting against a horde of monsters or free falling through the air was getting to her nerves! Like, seriously!?

And it didn't help that she had a feeling that Ventus was hiding something from her. Just as they left the borders of Lastation, Ventus froze for a second. It was only for a moment, but she saw him sweat for the first time, his eyes filled with slight worry before walking off.

She brought it up several times already, but every time she did, he would just shrug it off with 'I'm fine. Thanks for the worry though.' And an irritating smug face. Seeing that kinda made her want to smash his face in.

She wasn't sure why, but with him, her emotions seem to be looser than usual. Not sure why.

Anyways, as planned, Ventus, Kei, and Linda were now heading towards Lowee to warn the CPU there to stay safe. If they kept their current pace, they would reach Lowee in about 6 hours, letting them in right at noon.

Now, they were half-way through the journey, traversing through the plains and mountains and underground labyrinths to garner the shortest path towards Lowee.

Lowee, also known as the land of white serenity, was an old-fashioned country with a constant stream of snowfall coming at every moment. Being cold not only from the snow, but also from its high altitude, wearing warm jackets there was crucial for survival.

Kei's been there only twice in her life time. Once as a young girl, and once more on a recon mission together with Noire to discuss plans with Lowee's CPU about Arfoire's revival. And both times, it was freezing cold.

That aside, on this journey, she began to see the true might of the mysterious man known as Ventus.

While Kei could only support by dealing with the weaker monsters, and Linda could only sit and watch, Ventus was bringing out the big guns, his newly forged short sword cleaving a path over and over through horde after hordes of monsters.

There were also times when he allowed Kei to jump in and battle as the main star, but as they ventured through more and more dangerous places, Kei was forced to spectate.

In these battles, she viewed his fighting skills in great detail. The way he moved, the way he positions his body, the way he holds his sword, the timing he makes to parry and counter seemingly perfect strikes.

Ventus was definitely a veteran fighter, no doubt about that.

And then, there was his two magic types, fire and wind.

Fire as an attribute wasn't all the uncommon in the world of Gamindustri. Heck, even Noire herself was a master at using flames in battle. But wind?

From the little spurts of knowledge she gained from browsing the Nepnet, she knew at least that wind was an old element of magic, once common but faded out due to some unknown reason.

These days, the four prevalent elements were: Fire, Ice, Earth, and Photon. The first three were obvious enough, while photon was just a fancy word for 'pure mana'.

All that aside however, what's also interesting was that his magic seems to be confined to only some parts of his body.

When unarmed, he charges his right hand with mana and bursts of powerful flames erupted around it. He would also cloak his right leg with fire at times, but the fire there was much weaker and not as hot.

Meanwhile, he surrounds his left leg with an enormous amount of spiralling wind, and when he needs it to, he charges with immense speed and sends all that compressed wind flying at the enemy at point black range. An amazingly and terrifyingly powerful ability.

But his left arm remains unused. Which was…odd, but perhaps it's his style.

…Anyways, as you can see, Kei really took her time to examine every single inch and detail of his fighting style. So much so, that Ventus would occasionally just spot her staring intently at him while he battles, which only served to make him like her more.

Linda was just…being herself.

As she was born and raised as a branded criminal in a sense, her life has been a constant game of cops & robbers, getting herself chased around as she gathered negative crystals, stole and killed, and even helped in the kidnapping of the CPU of Lastation.

She was cowardly and prone to lying. Even in her life of crime, surrounded by many more people just like her, she didn't have many friends.

Ventus was the very first person to accept that part of her and dismiss it, behind her mother of course.

And to make it even better, Ventus knew her mother. He even said that he respected and was indebted to her, promising to help her bring her mother back to life.

But, if he wanted to help, wasn't warning the other CPUs about this counter to that promise?

Yet, even so, she felt like he was being genuine about that. Which only made her even more confused than she already was, her eyes popped wide open as she watched the guy bounce around and destroy the monsters in his path.

There was also this odd feeling every time she stands close to him. As an elf-, well, a half-elf, she knew the existence of an energy called share energy, the faith and hopes of the people, and negative energy, the exact counter to that, being despair and pain.

Normally standing beside someone would give her a general idea of who that person is. Is said person filled with faith, or resentment. Is he/she happy, or sad? That kinda stuff.

But with Ventus? It's almost as if there's an invisible barrier blocking that extra sense of hers.

Generally, she doubted that Ventus was a normal human. No normal human would be able to handle two types of magic elements with such ease.

His true race remains unknown however.

But that's fine. It didn't change much anyways.

He was just Ventus, this absurdly strong guy with no sense of decreasing stamina and a somewhat annoying but sometimes sense of humour. He could use two magic elements and was good with a sword and close-quarter combat. That's it. No more, no less.

So, as he finished up another group of creepy tentacle monsters, the three made it out of another underground labyrinth and continued on their way towards the forever snowy area housing the country they know as Lowee.

They could actually see it, an area where the clouds suddenly thickened and snow began to storm down towards the ground. What's odd was that the snow storm never bothered to leave the certain area that it occupied, leaving the rest of Gamindustri safe from an ice age.

It didn't bother anyone anymore by this point, since its regarded as just 'a fact of gamindustri'. This world in a sense is weird enough, having dungeons and labyrinths form on their own, so a specific area with constant snow wasn't the weirdest thing around.

No one knew why that was. No one knew how it worked. No one bothered to ask further.

Linda, in a sense, had a vague idea of why that was. As an elf-, *ahem*, a half-elf, Linda was sensitive to magic, and to that, mana. She could tell that the entire sky and air in the area surrounding Lowee was shrouded in a thick layer of mana and…something else.

But something didn't make sense. Mana, as an energy, wished to go to places that had less mana. If that was the case, why wasn't the mana diverging away from there at all? Could the foreign energy be the cause? Who knows?

After much gruelling walking through the snow, and having to endure the freezing temperatures, except for Kei who brought out a nice brown fur jacket from her floating briefcase, they finally made it to Lowee, around 2 hours past noon.

And the first thing they did was go to a nice place to eat. Surprisingly, Ventus was the one to take charge, claiming that there was a nice district where restaurants liked to stay. And as promised, there was an exact district like that.

The food they picked to eat was a nice bowl of warm miso ramen, a nice contrast to the cold air outside. Ventus happily, if somewhat grumpily, paid for the eating costs.

He seemed to not like seeing his credit count go down.

With their bellies filled, the three made their way up the mountain, further ascending towards the Basilicom of Lowee, which luckily wasn't at cloud-level height, but still pretty high nonetheless.

From what Kei remembered, the Basilicom here was like a chapel, with one large hall as the lobby and several smaller rooms at the side. If Lastation's Basilicom was an office hub, Lowee's was a church for the CPU.

And then, he stopped. Right before the large entrance to the Basilicom, he stopped.

"Ventus?"

"…"

His eyes scanned the entire place in a near instant. If she wasn't watchful, she might've missed his eyes moving at all. His eyes looked clouded, darker than his usual joking self. He seems to be rather deep in thought.

A small frown formed on his face, before it reverted back to his usual grin, albeit slightly smaller than normal. He didn't tell her, but from watching him so intently these past 7 to 8 hours, she knew something wasn't right.

"Ventus."

"Hmm? What, worried about me? Please, I'm fine. I'm standing strong on the highest point in the country without any warm jacket to protect me, so really, I'm fine."

 _There you go, much better._ She had a soft smile when she noticed his normal demeanour returning.

Unlike normal shounen protaganists, he wasn't as dense as obsidian cloaked in frozen bedrock. He quickly guessed that she noticed the short abnormality in his actions. She truly was an observant woman.

"You know…"

"…?"

"I like you."

With those three words said, he pressed his palm against the door and opened it, walking into the chapel-like building, leaving behind shocked and flustered Kei, and a still silent Linda. Linda quickly followed suit, leaving only Kei to let those words slowly sink in.

' _I…like you?_ '

Cheeks reddening, she quickly shook off any further thoughts and quickly entered the Basilicom, her floating briefcase swift in pursuit.

Of course, the reason he said so was to tease her, just for fun. But being real here, him saying that he 'liked Kei' wasn't exactly just a joke. She was strong, had her own sense of purpose, and could stand on her own. He liked that in women, one especially cute as her.

…Anyways, continuing on, once they were inside, they were greeted by…no one.

It seems like the current CPU of Lowee was outside for the time being.

As one would expect from a building looking like a chapel, the room was large, with long clear glass panes letting the sunlight in. There was a thin layer of carpet covering the floor, and several small round tables to sit around.

"A-Ah! W-Welcome guests!"

Then, after about 17 seconds of silence, one of the guards spotted them and ran over to them, greeting them with a smile as he did so. He seems rather tired though, and Ventus could spot trails of sweat trailing down his neck.

He seems to be in quite a hurry for something.

"Hello. Is Blanc here?"

Blanc, she was the current CPU of Lowee. A short girl with an even shorter temper, her friends and family blame her for being the scariest of the four CPUs. The guard heard her question and stuttered for a bit, before he went on to explain-

Before Ventus suddenly moved in and slashed his purple blade across his armoured chest that is.

"Gua!?"

In an instant, the blade sliced through the armour like it was butter, cleanly tearing through the inferior metal. A fountain of blood poured out of him, before he fell down onto the carpet, dead.

"V-Ventus…?"

Kei was quite shocked-, not because of the fact that Ventus just killed someone, but because of the current look on his face. His mouth wasn't showing any smile, his eyes were dead serious, staring piercingly at the dying guard, and his body was stiff and upright.

Even more than that however, when she looked at the dying 'guard', she saw his façade slowly melt away, revealing that it was someone else under that. Another follower of Arfoire!

"We're too late, huh…Well, damn."

Ventus shrugged his shoulders as he sheathed his blade back, stepping past the dying man and moving deeper into the Basilicom. Seeing as danger lurked here, Linda and Kei took no time and took out their respective weapons, closely following behind Ventus.

"I'll be brief. This entire place is crawling with goons. Each guard you see is an enemy. They're applying techniques similar to Linda's Illusions to pull this off. For now, let's head for the back end room. I sense something reeeaally big there."

He made his 'really' trail slightly longer than usual, just to try and lighten to mood a bit. Of course, that didn't work at all.

"And you're sure about this?"

"Yeah. Don't worry, if there are actual guards here, feel free to pin me down with all you blame. I'll take it all…Oh, and Linda, if you're too afraid to fight against your old comrades, then feel free to spectate from afar."

Linda looked down for a moment, before she looked back at his eyes and nodded silently, her bat readily held in her hands to strike her opponents down. Ventus smiled lightly as he stared at the first door they were about to pass through.

And the 15 minutes from there went on like any standard RPG. They went into each room, weapons ready, and inside, a group of 'guards' were waiting. Since they definitely asked that dead guy from earlier to not let anyone through, these three peeps seem to be intruders, yeah?

Of course, under the combined might from all three attackers, these mere grunt level enemies were nothing. Wounds were inflicted, blood was splattered, skulls and bones were cracked, and bodies fell limping onto the ground.

 _I wonder…_ Randomly, in the middle of a fight, Ventus' mind began to wonder as he slashed down another enemy, his eyes laying upon both Kei and Linda.

Kei, since she was a business woman, didn't have much experience battling. She did have some from her teenage life, but her skills have dulled over the years. It also doesn't help that her skills were self-taught with no base to stand on, making her sword play incredibly ineffective.

Her courage and bravery, along with her quick thinking, were her true blades that carved her path towards victory. While her skills were average at best, the tactics and movements she employs mid-fight were impressive.

Linda on the other hand, was a veteran at battles. Living her life as a half-elf, she was on a constant battlefield against people who wished to fight her, either to hunt her for money or to enslave her for some specific reason. For that, she grew up strong, her muscles well developed, and her fighting style polished.

But it was her mental strength that needed help. Once a stronger enemy than usual appeared, and she guessed that she was unable to defeat it, she ran away on instinct, leaving either Kei or Ventus to take up the mantle and take them down.

The two girls were exact opposites. A perfect folly for each other.

That was why he had a sudden idea and desire of wanting to teach the two the ways of battle. It was a completely random thought, but if they were to agree with it, then he would be more than delighted to help them become better.

Anyways, their jog towards the very last room of the Basilicom was swift and deadly, Ventus and his two companions wiping out room after room filled with grunts of Arfoire's revival. Their blades carved the way towards victory.

Finally, they stood upon the last door. It was the exact same as the many previous doors they had went through. On the outside, nothing was amiss. The door was in place, a small barrier erected to keep intruders away was conjured, and the handle opening the door remained unbroken.

But even Kei could tell something…creepy was inside. That was the best she could describe it as, creepy. A feeling of unease mixed with anticipation and obsession oozed out of the door. It sent chills up her spine.

With better senses like Ventus and Linda, they could tell a mass of Negative energy was inside there, along with small traces of Share Energy that was quickly being tainted by the imposing negative energy.

A soft gulp resounded from one of the three. No one knew who it was, but it was of no concern. The…'thing', whatever it was, lying inside this room beyond this door, was strong. It was the strongest thing Kei had ever felt in ages.

With a deep breath, Ventus placed his hand on the door handle, and pushed the door open.

Inside,

"Oh god…Not you…"

The first to complain was Linda, gaining an annoyed and exhausted sigh from the girl as she rubbed her temples. Ventus and Kei remained silent, with the latter having her mouth drop down at the utter surprise of the monstrosity sitting before them.

It was a large yellow armoured being, with a head of a breed between a pig and a lizard, a tongue like that of a giant snake, and a large green mechanical shell hanging on his back. It was drooling excessively, dripping and scattering all over the floor.

"C…FW…Trick…"

"Huu? Oya? If it isn't little Linda. Been missing for a few days now-, oh? Who're they?"

His voice was deep, a bass-like sound accompanied with perhaps the creepiest of all tones capable to be heard by the ears of mankind.

He was CFW Trick, one of the four main ambassadors of the Arfoire group.

"T-They're…"

"I'm Ventus. This here is Kei, pleased to make your acquaintance. Please, step aside, those girls you're keeping behind you seem to be suffering. Care to put them down? I have a med kit with me you know?"

But more importantly, behind the large hulking monster, was a pair of two sisters, entangled by a series of black cables, the ends of each cable stabbing painfully into their pristine skin, slowly tainting them.

They are the White sisters, the two CPU Sisters of Lowee.

They both had sandy-brown coloured hair with a matching set of fluffy wool-tailored dresses. The only difference between them was the fact that one of them had longer hair than the other, and the longer hair girl was wearing pink, while the other was wearing blue.

However, currently, their appearance was being distorted and changed by the pumping of negative energy. Their skin was slowly turning purple and their eyes were glazed over. Their bodies were weakened and no energy could be created to help them escape.

They were both trapped, and the more time they spent dawdling around, the more pain those two will be in.

"Step aside? Hoo, how confident! Leave me and my beauties alone, and I'll let you live? How about that? It's a good deal, isn't it-, guha!?"

He didn't wait for him to finish, as Ventus closed the gap between them in seconds and sent a flaming uppercut to his large belly, sending him flying up into the air. However,

' _Hard…_ '

The armoured look he had was not for show. When his flaming fist clashed against its body, even though it melted through a bit due to the heat, it felt like he just hit his hands against newly formed obsidian. It was incredible.

"Hu~huhuhu! How weak! [Strangle]!"

"Gua!?"

Suddenly, out of nowhere, a group of black cables appeared out of him and caught him, digging into his skin to keep him in place. CFW Trick landed on the ground and attached the wires to his shell, keeping him suspended in the air as he pumped the cables full of negative energy.

"Ventus!?"

"I-I'm fine! Attack it while it's on me!"

Is what he asked, but if Ventus was unable to deal a good blow on him, could they do so? No, they'd probably just get caught like Ventus did.

Linda was already on the verge of running away. If it wasn't for Kei restraining her by the collar of her hoodie, she might've made her way out of the Basilicom entirely. Her speed and cowardly nature were to be feared.

' _Ventus-!_ ' In her mind, even if she couldn't feel and sense share or negative energy, she could tell that something terrible was being pumped out of CFW Trick and into the ensnared Ventus, filling him up like a water tank.

But…for some reason, there was no expression of pain.

In fact, he seemed silent, peaceful even. His body was relaxing, not because of a lack of energy, but because of his lack of fear. Now this, **this** wasn't right. Both girls could tell in an instant, and after some time, CFW Trick noticed as well.

"What the…? Why is he still aliv-"

It was then, that a purple sword suddenly went flying and stabbed into Trick's head.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

* * *

"What the…? Why is he still aliv-"

It happened in an instant. A purple short sword suddenly went flying and pierced into the head of the monstrous CFW Trick. His yellow armoured being unable to handle the incredible velocity the sword was thrown at.

Black muddy blood flowed out from the wound, spraying out. Trick screamed over and fell down, doubling in pain as he clutched his injured head with his big hands.

"Aah~, now I haven't felt that in a while."

Turning her eyes, Kei saw Ventus, standing there with his hands behind his head. He had the same usual grin as always; no signs of pain or distress could be seen on that face of his.

"But, seriously. Dude, the hell's up with your fetish? Urk, I feel like my brain just got violated…"

"S-Shut up! I decide what I like! And why the hell are you still alive!? I-I pumped you full of Negative Energy! No being should be able to survive that!

His grin evolved into a sinister smile-, well, perhaps not 'sinister', but that's what it looked like to Kei anyways. He seems to be having a blast though.

With no further ado, he continued his assault. Surrounding his left leg with wind, he charged onwards and kicked him straight in the belly, sending him back. Trick fought back by discharging a blast of poisonous gas into the air, which he dispersed by exploding the wind surrounding his legs.

"[I-Illusionary-"

"Don't bother."

 _[Hades' Wrath]!_ He shouted in his mind as he gathered a vicious flame around his fist and punched it straight on his open face. The fire gathered onto one main point, and collapsed outwards, showering Trick in the flames of hell itself!

Or that's what he claims at least.

Climbing up Trick kaiju style, he pulled out the sword from his head and blocked his incoming yellow arm, getting flung back as he shot out more of those cables to restrain him. This time, he simply surrounded his left leg with a vicious wind and kicked downwards, the wind turning into a tornado that tore apart any incoming attacks.

In that time-

"It's over! [Negative Bomb]!"

Laughing triumphantly, Trick unleashed one of his special attacks, the [Negative Bomb]. It was a bubble of pure condensed negative energy. Against any human, it'll be dangerous to take head on, but against CPU, it'll be a near insta-kill.

And further powered up by the new Negative energy factories that were the two CPU Sisters, the bomb was the size of a basketball, shot towards him with intense speed.

He raised his left arm towards it, before the bomb made contact and exploded. The resounding blast shattered all the glass panes in the Basilicom and broke apart the walls surrounding them. Slowly, the dust faded and-

Ventus was still standing, looking fairly okay with the exception of his left arm, which was bleeding intensely.

"H-How…!?"

"…So, wanna continue? You could run if it gets too dangerous, you know? I'll even let you do it. But I'll be taking back these girls." He said as he pointed at the twin sisters, their breaths ragged and weak.

As much as Trick wanted to fight however, he had a bad feeling about him. His strength was close enough to the CPUs, and with the addition of being 'resistant' to negative energy(maybe), he was an obstacle he was not confident in approaching carelessly.

So, just like his name, he created one final illusion, a bright bursting light that blinded their eyes, before he disappeared into thin air, leaving behind the two sisters, and a very broken back room of the Basilicom.

"…Well, he's gone now. Let's get back inside, okay? Being in the snow is nice and all, but I don't want to see your skin get all frozen up."

"Still…joking, huh."

"Hyoto." Ventus went over and picked up the twin sisters in his arms, their constantly increasing Negative Energy seemingly not bothering him in the slightest. With his usual grin back, he turned around and walked through the broken door.

The two girls were left there, pondering and trying to take in what they've just seen. Linda, since she knew who and how powerful CFW Trick was, confirmed her theory that, yes, Ventus was really really powerful.

Kei was just…dumbfounded? In awe? Shocked? To be honest, her feelings after watching that show was a bit complicated and all over the place. The dread she felt when she saw the seemingly invincible Ventus get caught in those wires were suffocating, but then-

*Boom!* He broke out of them in style and even pushed the enemy enough to force him to escape. Seriously, just how broken was that guy?

With some lingering thoughts from the battle, the two quickly followed and went back into the Basilicom. The place's been damaged a bit, but they won't mind too much, hopefully.

But, onto the real problem.

"Are…they alright?"

Kei was worried. The twin sisters were usually strong and lively, but now, they were on their dying breaths. Their skin was tainted, turned slightly purples. Their body was pouring with sweat. Their usually sandy brown hair turned black and dark.

"…"

Not Ventus nor Linda could give an answer to that, but the current answer for now should be damn obvious already. If they couldn't come up with a solution, these two will stay like this, more and more pain getting stacked upon them.

"…Well, we're doomed. Good game, well played."

There was no hesitation in those words.

There was no way to save them.

"W-What do you…?"

"The Negative Energy has penetrated their share cor-, their hearts. Even with surgery, if that's even possible, they'd die without their new tainted heart."

They were no longer CPUs-, well, CPU Sisters. They were now a new being, not a human, but not a pure goddess either. If they were to try and completely filter out all the bad stuff from her…Honestly, the results weren't clear in the slightest.

"But-"

There's still something he could do.

"But…?"

Kei noticed it. A slight fluctuation of light in his eyes.

"…Well, I'm not omnipotent, so this might now work, but~…Well, why the hell not? Just…Don't tell anyone. Really. If you can't promise that, then I can't promise you their safety."

"O-Of course! S-Surely you agree a-as well, right?"

Linda simply nodded in silence, more intrigued than afraid really. At this point, the two sisters were doomed to die. So, if there was something, anything he could do to at least prolong their lives, then it would be a blessing to see.

"…Alright then! Grab some tea or something from your briefcase, it's going to get a bit lengthy."

He took a deep breath and continued, his two hands placed over the sisters' eyes. He seems to be concentrating on both talking and the operation.

"Ma…Arfoire and I were great friends in the past. Back in the day, she'd be known by her title the 'Reverse Goddess', as her specialty was to inherit the people's despair, which you peeps call 'Negative Energy'.

After some nagging about how cool it is and asking her to teach it to me, she hesitantly obliged and taught me the basics, about how to take in negative energy and harness it until it runs dry.

It won't be a pure stop, but I'll be able to unload some of their Negative Energy and pack it inside me. I'll be fine with it, since I'm somewhat 'resistant' to it, but I won't be in tippy top shape either. We might want to lie down for a good couple days, after I do this that is."

That sounded…suspicious. Kei had some doubts that what he said was really the truth, but she won't press it on him. He seems to have his own circumstances as well.

Now, to commence the operation!

"…!"

Seen from an outsider's perspective, it looked like a mucky black substance was flowing out of the two sisters, coiling around his arm before getting sucked into him. Small signs of pain and exhaustion seen here and there, but he seemed okay.

On the other hand, Ventus felt absolutely terrible right now. This process, an act that could not be done by normal humans, was an especially cruel one.

As he sucked in their overflowing Negative Energy, lapses of their memory came into his mind, showing their personality and true selves without any façade covering it up.

Now, distorted by the despair and nightmares of Negative Energy, he was only able to barely keep his own façade up of being fine. Feelings of hatred, pain, jealousy, ignorance, all distorted flowed into him like a river in the mountains.

And, holy crap, it hurt.

But he's felt worse. He's been crushed under a mountain, tanked an attack that could flatten a mountain straight on, exploded by a bomb the size of a mountain, got dropped into a lake where a mountain once was.

Hell, all his painful stuff seems to relate to mountains for some reason.

Anyways, something as light as accepting their distorted emotions, is nothing!

The flow of Negative Energy sped up with her increasing battle spirit. The coiling black substance surged out faster, and he sucked it in even faster.

Finally, with one last tug, he pulled out a bit more Negative Energy, before he lifted his palms from their eyes. Their expressions were much looser now, and the look of struggling pain they had from earlier was no longer there.

All in all, it was a success.

"Ventus?"

But Ventus didn't take to it too kindly. After getting his mind blasted with all the stuff, even someone as mentally strong as he would have a bit of a hard time trying to configure everything back to how it was.

"Ventus?"

"A-Ah. Sorry, but I'm feeling a bit tired. I'll be outside if you need me. Just don't expect to come running into my arms or anything. Don't even have enough strength to fight a dogoo…"

He laughed awkwardly as he left the Basilicom, his right hand rubbing his temple with exhaustion as he did his best to wash away this aching headache of his.

So, Kei and Linda were left to their own accord, standing there awkwardly with no one bothering to start a conversation. Soon enough, Linda left too, going back in the direction of where they fought CFW Trick.

Kei was…seriously beginning to doubt every single knowledge about Arfoire she had. From what she knew, Arfoire was an evil lady who wished to bring destruction and calamity to the land of Gamindustri.

But firstly, there was Linda, who was her daughter, and Ventus, who mentioned that they were great friends in the past. Heck, that just raised even more questions.

Who truly was Arfoire? How did Ventus come to know her? How truly powerful was she? What the hell was a 'Reverse Goddess'? How old was Ventus actually? Also, why does he seem to know so much about this stuff?

"…Maybe he's a scholar? No, why was he so strong then? Ah! Maybe…No…"

She's thinking so hard, that her bad habit of talking to herself like a weirdo was beginning to show. Her feet tapped repeatedly against the carpet, the muffled sounds of her foot echoing through the large empty room.

Although, for some reason…

"Muu~, to think he could say 'I like you' with such a straight face…! Kuu! _Why did he have to be so cool?!_ "

Her topic of discussion suddenly shifted to his 'confession' from earlier. Also, the last sentence she spoke was whispered, just in case some unseen ninja happened to hear her.

Anyways, the situation became pretty lax and peaceful after that, so let's skip a bit.

* * *

An hour passed by quite peacefully. After that incident with CFW Trick, the Basilicom-, no, the entire country of Lowee seems to have gone silent, not that there was a lot of noise in the first place.

Several kilometres down from the Basilicom, Ventus was sitting by his lonesome by a side wooden park bench. In his hands was a warm plastic cup of tea. Most would've gone with chocolate or tea, but he didn't like those very much.

Right now, his mind was still in disarray from all that Negative Energy he had to endure. Doing this kinda stuff was never going to be easy.

So, there he was, sitting and sipping his warm tea, his glazed eyes staring out into the snow, each little flakes of snow falling atop their own destination.

If others were still walking around right now, then they'd have given Ventus 'the look'. After all, he was sitting outside, along, without a jacket or anything to keep him constantly warm, and an empty expression on his face. He looked almost like a lost child.

Well…He didn't really have any time nor focus to fix that. Right now, he was just looking and sorting through the surge of distorted memories he pumped into himself, just in case any clues about his sister shows up anywhere.

And being honest? The current CPU of Lowee was a bit of a douchebag.

She reads books and looks up the Nepnet the entire day, and when her twin sisters want to play with her, she just shoos them away, not even bothering to see their sadness as she delves back into her books.

They did their best to get her attention, going around, asking her to play, trying to go off on their own missions, but whatever they did, she'd just sink back into her own world.

It was the worst thing you could do for your siblings.

But as someone who ever did that, he doubted he could say anything about that.

 _"_ _O-Onii-san!"_

Just remembering that pained face as she ran her way towards him, as explosions after explosions riddled the air. Smoke permeated through out the country, and before long, the entire thing came crashing down.

He shook his head and brushed off the thought. A single flash of that brought more pain than the many tortures he'd endured in his life time. At least he was still-

Suddenly, he stood up and jumped forward, avoiding a pair of jagged green blades that broke through the wooden bench with ease. Coolly, but somewhat on accident, not wanting to waste the tea, he took hold of the cup mid-air and drank it empty, landing on his feet and throwing it skilfully into a nearby trash can.

Grinning slightly from another successful throw, he turned serious and looked at the perpetrator, who had just arrived to take the two blades.

It was a woman, or a girl, she wasn't too sure. Her spiky hair was blonde in colour and her eyes were emerald green. Wearing a mere white and green vest that only covered her chest and a white and green shorts with what seems to be black spandex underneath.

Her standing out here with that clothing was obviously odd-, well, Ventus wasn't wearing anything too warm either, but he's got his own circumstances. But what was most surprising, was the canine black ears and her fluffy black and white tail wagging behind her.

She seems determined to fight him.

Taking out his purple short sword from the scabbard, he shifted his focus and pointed at her.

Only to find that he wasn't there anymore.

*Cling!*

"Fast." He said softly as he parried a sword coming from his right, before he swung it away and blocked another sword strike from his front. The wolf woman jumped back and threw her twin blades, a thin near-invisible string attached to them.

In a flash, he stepped past the two blades and slashed off their attached strings, the weapons flying away with nothing to step them, finally landing stabbed into a lamp post.

He immediately charged in and struck her in the abdomen with his sword, only for her to faze and pop into none-existence. Took him quite a bit until he realised that he just killed a clone, and that the swords from earlier were gone.

' _She's fast._ ' He commented in his head as he jumped, dodging an incoming attack from the side. He swung his blade downwards, his sword blocked by the twin blades as the cat girl leapt away from him.

In this wave of snow, the scenery around him was near white, with only little cracks through which he could spot his enemy moving.

And in this snowstorm, while her cat features and her revealing clothing was odd enough in this cold environment, the thing that stood out the most were her eyes. Her eyes were no longer green, but a vivid shade of red, a glare of pure bloodlust.

She was determined to kill him, one way or another.

He needed a moment, a moment to strike. Gritting his teeth for an upcoming impact, he faked a moment of hesitation, which the girl quickly picked up on and rushed in, slashing her blade upon his chest.

A layer of blood splashed out into the snowy air, Ventus doing the best he could to withstand the pain which was being bolstered by the snow. But, now, the girl was close.

And it was time to strike.

"[Brahmastra]"

A sword of pure black formed in his left hand, and enduring the ripping muscle fibres on his left arm, he moved in and stabbed the sword straight into her open stomach. Blood splashed out onto his white shirt, which was already bloodied anyways.

The girl stepped back, hissed at him, before she disappeared into thin air, the snow covering her tracks. With a single flash, the girl was gone.

In normal circumstances, he would've been more worried and probably would've chased her down, but,

Let's just say, he wasn't the disciple of the Goddess of Death without a reason.

Now…what to do? His chest was bloody, a large wound was on his chest, and most of all, his left arm was bleeding like crazy.

Sheathing back his short sword and dismantling his void sword, [Brahmastra], before he finally turned towards the road and headed back up for the Basilicom. When he returns, Kei was probably going to get angry at him.

' _I wonder what she'll look like when she's angry…Probably still cute._ '


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

* * *

It was only for a moment. But she sensed-, no, she **felt** it, all the way from here.

At the time Ventus was enjoying his nice lone time outside the Basilicom, Linda was having her own lone time, sorting out her own emotions and convictions as to what she should do from now on.

Currently, she was standing in the room that got destroyed earlier, her eyes blankly staring out into the snowy town landscape from above. There was no major reason as to why she brought herself here. She just felt like it.

She wanted to believe in the man she knew as Ventus, but she knew mankind, and the ugliness they carried deep inside them. He did promise to help bring her mother back, but…what if that was just a lie?

It scared her. She's seen what he could do after all. His power was incredibly strong, even matching one of her four overseers.

At that moment, she felt it.

One, or maybe two, she couldn't really tell very well, immensely dense surges of Negative Energy was flung through out the air. She swore she even saw the room and the snow all around her vibrate a little.

She turned around and made it for the Basilicom's entrance. Whatever sent out that was incredibly close.

Then, she stopped in her tracks.

She thought, 'If that thing was nearby, I could just tail the hel outta here, and those two'll be dead before they know it!'. It was a solid reason to do so. This would take out two possible threats from the list without much effort at all.

But, she had no time to think, because she heard a loud creak coming from the main lobby.

It just entered. She ran, burst through the door, and-

"Hmm? What's wrong Linda? Did you sense something?"

It was…absolutely normal. No monsters, no CFW, no nothing. Just, a slightly tired looking Ventus standing there with Kei just nearby, her eyes focused on the laptop she pulled out from somewhere. Probably that floating briefcase of hers.

"N? Oh, you're ba-" Kei was about to respond pleasantly, but then she saw that large hole on his shirt, and the dripping blood from his left hand, along with the red on his shirt. She slammed her laptop close and rushed over, her eyes staring worryingly.

But, something was off.

Sure, there was blood _everywhere_ , but she could not see a single wound on him. His chest was fine, his left arm was fine, although he was holding his left wrist with his right rather worriedly, and he didn't look too massively hurt.

Was this blood someone else's then? She asked herself, but that seemed unlikely. Nevertheless, he was bloody, but he seems to be alright. She let out a soft sigh.

"A…Uh…"

"…? Linda? You okay? Do you want to go sleep? Want me to make some flan for you before bed? I guarantee they taste good."

Ah, she understood now.

The mass of whirling Negative Energy, that was Ventus.

How could she have forgotten? He just sucked in an explosive amount of it from the two CPU Sisters to save them for the time being. Letting some of it out by accident wasn't all that crazy really.

Of course, he _did_ let it out. By his own intentions as well.

His wounds were mostly gone, but his left arm still did feel a bit numb from him using it to swing that weapon of hurling energy at that cat girl. The matter of his left arm…was to be left for another day.

Actually, while it was mostly for laughs, could he perhaps make some flan here? He hasn't eaten one in a while, and in this cold weather, a flan with some nice warm tea might do the trick!

"Actually, you girls, want to have some flan? If I can make some that is."

""…Flan?"" Both girls responded in sync, both their faces showing a confused expression. He did, just, arrive here with blood all over him, and now he wants to treat them to some flan? Was he-, actually, by this point, the thought process of this man was beyond their comprehension, so they both nodded in defeat.

A small genuine smile appeared on his face, before turning back to his old grin. No one noticed.

The rest of the day was spent peacefully for the newly arrived trio. After their very very delicious flan and tea, they went in turns into the bath, cleaning themselves off from the journey they just had. For courtesy, Ventus went last.

Finally, as the day comes to a close, the trio headed for their own _selected_ rooms and fell asleep soundly, the nice flan, tea, and warm bath combination easily inviting them into the realm of sleepy heaven.

Of course, Ventus knew this would happen. After all, he did just slip in some self-made sleeping powder into the tea he made for them, so their sleep tonight should be extra comfy.

Right now, he had only one job to do.

It's time to go on a rescue mission!

Judging from the fact that the hauling monstrosity that is CFW Trick just appeared to transform those two sisters, that probably meant that he skipped out on dealing with the main CPU, probably because of his fetish for young girls…Ugh, the more he thought about it, the more repulsed he felt.

Charging through the snow streets without much of a care of hitting someone by accident, he descended down from the Basilicom and towards the border.

If his blood loss wasn't that heavy, then the source of Negative Energy originated from a nearby village around 12 or 13 kilometres away from Lowee. It's quite far, but he had an entire night to do this, might as well make it count.

Soon enough, he went past the border with ease and left towards the village. The snow was blinding and the silence was maddening, but as a man of culture, he came to appreciate even the lonely parts of life. Well, maybe that's sugar-coating it a bit…

But, in the midst of the snow storm, he felt someone watching him from afar, their gaze piercing and sharp. He could take a good guess at who it was, but that'll spoil the fun and could be wrong, so he'll save that after he meets them face to face.

"Those are…" In the distance, he spotted a group of floating white orbs, their stagnant selves casually floating around above the field of snow.

They were…snow spirits, probably? He wasn't too sure, he'd forgotten their actual names, but their monsters nonetheless. Drawing his short sword from his scabbard, he wielded it on his right hand and charged, relentlessly swinging and slashing apart two snow spirits at once.

*Vuuuuuu!*

The rest became angered, and shot out torrents of snow at him. But, being the speedster glass cannon type he was, he easily evaded their incoming snow blasts and slashed them down one by one, their ethereal selves dispersing as his blade cleanly sliced them apart.

' _They're…?_ '

But something didn't feel right. No, maybe it was more correct to say that these monsters didn't feel natural at all. Their aim was too perfect, and the amount of snow they threw out was consistent for a total of 15 seconds before he killed them all.

If he'd guess, they were probably artificial, somehow. He wasn't too sure on that, but it didn't matter. As long as they were monsters and he could kill them off, he couldn't ask for more.

He was quite a twisted man, if he had to admit himself.

But, that aside, the village was now in sight, if slightly darker than what he expected. 30 minutes flew by in no time, and by the time he sensed another big wave of Negative Energy, he was already at the village's border.

 _Odd…Where is everyone?_

Obviously, it's night, so no one was going to be outside, but even then, it was almost as if this entire village was empty, _dead_ even. No traces of life could be found, no trees, no flowers, no animals, no humans, nothing.

Just…an empty village.

And then, a knife went flying towards his open neck.

"…!"

Barely catching it in the eerie silence, he parried the incoming knife and took a stance, his eyes wandering from left to right to search for his enemy.

Another knife came from behind, then from the front, then from both left and right. He parried them all, but no signs of the enemy has been seen. The enemy was blending in perfectly into the cold white snow.

Of course, that didn't matter.

"Stop running around in circles and fight me! It's making my eyes dizzy."

"…!"

The cat girl, the one he had fought just hours ago, stopped in her tracks to look at him-, or, well, the spot where he was last seen. Next thing she knew, she felt a strong jab on her left waist that sent her flying down into the snow.

"I can see through the snow. Don't bother trying to blend in, especially not in those clothes. _How are you not cold anyways?_ "

The cat girl merely got up, her eyes shining a crimson red glow as she prepared her twin green short swords. The pain on her waist was still there, but she forced herself up. It was a powerful attack, she noted to herself as she locked eyes with him.

It seems like another fight was on the way-

"[Lock, on]"

"Gah!?"

But Ventus didn't have that much free time to indulge in another fight. Swiftly sheathing his blade, he reached his right hand out towards her and clenched it, causing the burst of Negative Energy he implanted into her earlier to explode brilliantly.

[Lock on], a powerful spell he developed to make use of his Negative Energy. With a single mark placed, he could unleash this spell to put down anyone with ease. But if someone was strong enough to resist this, they wouldn't even feel it.

Not that it mattered, since the cat girl fell onto her knees and was breathing heavily, her insides all disrupted from the blast. Showing a soft smile, he walked past her and began searching the village, mostly for any survivors.

There were none.

"Hey, girl, you know where all the villagers went?"

...

...

Silence. She spoke not even a single word. Not even a single sound left those lips of hers. He didn't really need to ask, he had no obligation to anyways. He wasn't a hero.

But, if he could take a guess, maybe they're being used for…experiments? It was a grim outlook, but it seemed likely.

With all that out of the way however, he now stood before the gates to the one and only church in this snowy village. He felt a huge amount of Negative Energy emanating from the inside, and a shiver after realising who this disgusting energy belonged to.

With a sigh of disgust, he slowly opened the doors and went inside.

And, oh boy, was that disgust so ever rectified.

There, atop the altar, where a priest may offer his blessings and whatnot to a believer, he could see Blanc, Lowee's CPU, lying down naked atop the stone altar, with countless cables of Negative Energy plunged into her skin.

She was a girl with sandy blonde hair, pristine skin, and a young and soft body figure. Just like her two twin sisters. But unlike them, she was…she was…uh… _slightly_ bigger? And…more adult looking…? Honestly, it's hard to describe.

Luckily though, the process wasn't complete just yet. Heck, it almost looked like it just started. But he still couldn't be too relaxed about it. Once she's gone, she's gone for good. He could do nothing to change that.

And most of all, there was the bastard, CFW Trick, sitting beside the altar with a sickening grin on his face. He…He knew that bastard liked lolis and all, but…but…ugh, just thinking about it was making his brain cells commit suicide one by one.

Holding his short sword like a javelin, he toom aim and threw, this time aiming for his neck instead of his head.

It, however, did not make it through, as a large barrier suddenly formed around him and blocked the incoming sword, flinging it back in his direction, sliding across the floor. Only then, did Trick realise that Ventus was there.

"H-Huh!? Y-You-!?"

"Yo, miss me, pervert?"

The bastard's grin soon turned into an angry scowl as he recalled his last encounter with him, getting his big head stabbed and all. His hate was further fuelled by the fact he just called him a pervert! He just liked young girls after all, what's so wrong with that!?

There was so much wrong with that.

"H-Ha! I-I'm in my own domain now! Y-You can't get anywhere near me! H-Haha!"

"…This? _This_ is a domain?"

…Somehow, he was…surprised. Not, like, badly surprised, but…just, disappointed surprised. Because, there was no way in hell something this small and weak feeling was a domain. Or, was he comparing this to the wrong object.

A god's domain was insane and all, since they're gods. But monsters? They were nowhere near god-tier power, so he guessed this weak domain wasn't anything too surprising then. Still, seeing as it blocked the sword he threw at maximum power showed that it wasn't that weak either.

Suddenly, the door behind him closed, locked from the inside by countless living cables of Negative Energy. Trick seems to really want to keep him inside, which Ventus happily obliges as he slowly walked over to the monstrosity.

"[C-Cables]!"

Several of the cables in the vicinity whipped around his body and stabbed into his skin, pumping him full of Negative Energy. Once again, memories and emotions from the monster flow into his mind, but he's seen this once already. He's still disgusted though. Ugh.

"Dude, seriously? Again?"

After he took some of the Negative Energy for himself, feeling repulsed by all the dirty thoughts in his head, he easily broke out from the bindings, picked up his sword and threw at him once again.

Just like last time, a barrier was erected to defend against it. But unlike last time, Ventus charged in with his right hand burning a crimson flame, all gathering into his palm, before finally settling in on his middle finger.

Taking some minor inspiration from a certain large floating laser shooting camera monster, he pulled his arm back, before he smashed his hand against the barrier, all the flames concentrated on his middle finger firing out onto the barrier like a laser cannon.

It hurt. Holy hell it hurt. But he withstood it, watching as the laser quickly melted and broke through the invisible barrier, allowing Ventus to push through. Ignoring the fact that there were several red cracks running across his middle finger, he took hold of his sword and charged in!

"H-Hii! [B-Bombardment]!"

A string of black spheres shot out from his opened mouth, and upon landing, the exploded into a bright purple explosion, which looked more like fireworks really than actual bombs.

Not unscathed, but still standing, Ventus ran up close to the giant monster and slashed his sword upwards, getting in a clean first strike at the monster. Black blood came splashing out from his large wound, scattering all over the floor.

He also added a nice quick [Ares' Chariot] onto his wounded chest, kicking him away and breaking through the back wall of the church with ease. Bits and blocks of stone fell from the gap as Trick struggled to lift himself.

"A-Ahh…It hurts…IT HURTS."

"What? Are you a baby? Stop whining and come at me!"

Bringing the fight out into the snowy air, he jumped high into the air and loaded some quick mana into his right leg, cloaking it with fire as he kicked at the newly formed invisible barrier, quickly following it up with a sword strike.

The barrier unbroken, he unconsciously clicked his tongue as he switched to backhand sword wielding and stabbed the blade against the invisible barrier, Trick watching with a grin as he saw him unable to break through.

The situation seems quite grim.

"D-Damn, that's one hell of a barrier alright…I-I'll, give you that!"

Well, while the situations _were_ dire, he couldn't help but feel a tinge of excitement brewing somewhere inside his mind. Not everything could just match him straight on, even with this version of him.

Ah, if only he still had his special sword from last time…

That aside though, this barrier really is tough. That previous laser attack was possible due to him focusing it all to a single point, but that resulted in his middle finger getting red cracks all over it. And painful too, really painful.

He had no worries though, even as he felt a cable stab through his stomach and his large feet kick him back through the wall, smashing through it and letting him fall onto the floor. Dust trailed around the fallen boy as he coughed, blood slowly seeping from his wound.

Trick was ecstatic however, walking confidently back in as he relived that moment several times in his head, relishing the amazing feeling of kicking back the bug that's been tormenting him.

That smile soon shifted to confusion though, as he saw Ventus, back on his feet, pulling out all of the cables from Blanc, and…stabbing it into himself?

"…Huh? What are you doing, you bug?"

He stayed silent. Well, more like he couldn't speak actually. The sudden burst of Negative Energy flooded into his body, filling him up like a pump overflowing with water. Pain surged though his every being.

He arched his head back in pain, silently screaming as he forcefully built a connection between them.

 _D-Damnit! H-He's doing it again!_

By this point, it was clear to Trick what it was that Ventus has been doing this entire time. Every time he absorbs his Negative Energy, he grows stronger! If he was going to take that all in, he would become unstoppable!

But, at the same time, would anyone be capable of handling that much Negative Energy on their own? Even Trick had to rely on the trapped villagers in the church's basement to act as Energy batteries to not overload himself.

Slowly, that fear turned to a feeling of ecstatic triumphant, as he watched blue and purple cracks spread across his body, from his face, down to his chest, to his legs and arms.

He knew how this was going to go, or maybe he'd try and fire all the Negative Energy at once, but by that point, his body was already beyond repair anyways. His maniacal laugh permeated through the silent air.

"S-Sorry to…hah…burst your bubble…hah…but I'm not doing that. Y-You'll…just…hah, absorb…it all in again…wouldn't you? I'm…not…that…dumb!"

And then, the air got colder. Literally.

It was almost as if the snowstorm itself responded to his call, as Ventus slowly moved his two cracked arms and clasped them together, all the cracks on his body glowing a beautiful dark blue light as he made one last grin.

"W-Wha-!?"

"Get…you ass ready."

And then, the world turned white for both of them.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

* * *

All around was a world of contradictions.

The wind blew to the east, but it too blew to the west. The skies were a bright morning blue, yet mixed with the starry traces of night. The soil was clearly seen, but it had the same visibility of the ocean.

There was air, yet there was no air. There was light, yet it was dark.

"W-What is… _this_?"

CFW Trick had every right in his soul to be confused. After all, he was just standing in the church, waiting patiently for the bug he's been fighting against to overload himself and explode into a blast of energy the size of a nuclear bomb.

But that didn't happen. Instead, here he was, his large body standing atop the see-through dirt below him.

Looking around, he could see no traces of the church. Not a single bit. Heck, it's almost as if every single connection he had to the world of Gamindustri had been cut off in an instant.

Slowly, it began to rain, both downwards and upwards. Snow was there too, blowing from the right and the left. The two sides collided, as they clumped together and formed…something. A blob of…something.

It moved and wiggled about, as if every single cell inside it had its own desires and dreams. The ran and snow subsided, and too did the movements of the clump stop, dead in its tracks.

And then, like something out of a horror movie, the clump began to crack. It spread all across its body, light escaping from inside, until finally, the clump could hold the force inside no more and burst open.

"Enjoying this place?"

"Y-You!?"

Finally, there he was, rising out from the remains of that unsightly clump, all his cracks and fatigue gone. Even more, his hair was shining gold, and his eyes were piercing red, as if they were peering into his soul-

"Gaah…GAAAAAHHH!?"

Suddenly, an immense pain coursed through Trick, causing him to fumble and drop to his plump knees. Nothing was attacking him, not from the outside nor the inside, and yet…

 _W-What the hell's up with this place!?_

He couldn't help but ask that question. He tried moving, using his magic, conjuring a line of magical cable, anything, but his body did not respond.

"I-Is this your, aaghh! Y-Your plan!? To t-torture me and f-free the CP-, Gaaaghh!?"

It was the only logical explanation. Her life was in his hands after all. But he wasn't worried. He's felt much more pain than this bug could ever do! The many years of torture and solitude he had endured to wait for his goddess, Arfoire to be reborn again is far greater than this!

His determination rose to its peak, but then, by the corner of his eye, enduring his pain, he saw him, his eyes looking annoyed and his lips twisted into a scowl. It wasn't like anything he had seen from the man.

"Save them?...You serious? As if."

"H-H-Huh…?"

Just to make sure he hammers this home, Ventus snapped his fingers and lifted the pain from Trick just for a moment, just to make sure he hears what he says.

"Look, I don't care whether they die or not. If they die, then they're just not strong enough. I'm just here to look for my sister, doesn't matter what I have to do to achieve that. And to think that there's still no clues to my sister… **how fucking annoying**."

"GuuuaaAAAAAHAHHHH!"

The pain immediately came back, even stronger than before. His entire body felt like it was ripping apart, each cell trying to force themselves away from each other. Cracks began appearing over his body, black blood seeping out.

"And to think you bastards would use Arfoire without her consent…"

"W-What do you-, GAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!"

The cracks soon turned into small ravines, and blood continued to escape from his body. His mind and rationality were slowly breaking down, escaping from his being just like his muddy black blood currently was.

"But, be proud. You're going to become my power, so your pitiful existence won't be a waste."

It was then, that he finally realised what this is, and who this person standing before him is.

It was a foolish decision. A truly foolish one.

To think he would ever pick a fight with a man such as him, he grimaced with the last pieces of his sanity. He wanted to beg for mercy, to cry on his knees and to offer up anything for another chance to live, but his dying body wouldn't move.

And besides, as if Ventus would ever do something like that.

All his actions are guided by one goal, and anything that stands in the way-

Will be killed.

"GRRRRRARAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!"

His body had enough, and as the last of his mind eroded away, his cracked body exploded into a myriad of black and purple lights. The see-through terrain shook, the wind thrown back, and the skies rumbled.

The existence of the being known as CFW Trick has ceased to exist.

"…[Helheim]…still as tiring to use as ever."

[Helheim], a skill of fragmenting the mind and soul. A technique created by Ventus to tap into the world of contradictions, the place that is formed from his own psyche. It allows him to tap into the enemy's minds and even take some of their powers for himself.

Of course, there's a catch. Two actually.

One, after using this, he will be incapacitated for a full 48 hours. He still could move and do stuff after some rest, but fighting any monsters or using magic would just open up the cracks he had from all the Negative Energy he took in.

Secondly, if the enemy he is fighting is either stronger than him or is not scared by him in the slightest, then [Helheim]'s two most powerful skills would be no use at all. At most, the skill would only become a place to fight, a battle arena of sorts.

"Well, guess that's over with."

With a single clap, the world faded away, and he was back at the church he and Trick had caused some damage to. The piercing cold wind blew inside, but that mattered not for the exhausted man.

Slowly, he dragged his heavy body over to one of the vacant seats, and lied himself down.

He slept like a log straight after,

* * *

"W-What do you mean exactly?"

"As I said, I checked the Basilicom when I woke up, and he wasn't here."

It was still early morning for Linda. Her hair was still messy and all over the place, and she looked like she was about to fall asleep again if not for the bright shining light coming in from the windows.

And the first thing she heard this morning was that Ventus had suddenly disappeared. She wondered if that was a joke to help her wake up, but judging from the serious face Kei had while she was working on her laptop, it seems like she really wasn't lying.

"He's…in a nearby village. 15,7 Kilometres south-east from here."

Using a tracker she secretly slipped into his pockets, she managed to track his exact location on her laptop. Well, that's only the tracker's location. He could have found out and threw it away before going off somewhere, so it's a 50-50 chance right here.

…She…would have gone and rushed over to there, but, first, its forever snowing, and running 15 or so kilometres in the snow was going to take a while. And second, she couldn't just leave the two CPU Sisters here.

"I'll go."

Suddenly, Linda spoke, her hands already strapping her iron bat to her waist and placing the hood over her head.

"…Sorry?"

"I said I'll go. You're busy keeping those two safe, right? Then I'll go."

It wasn't something she would normally do. After all, those two could hold the key to bringing back her mother. But…Somehow, she felt like Ventus' offer was a much safer and effective method.

That, and this morning, just as the sun was beginning to rise, she felt a massive burst of Negative Energy surging from south-east, exactly where Kei had just said Ventus was. She didn't think much of it at the time and went to sleep.

But now that she thought about it, there were two possibilities to that. The first one being that CFW Trick overpowers Ventus and kills him, while the latter option being where Ventus takes down Trick.

As said, it's a 50-50 chance.

But judging as the grip on her soul from one of Trick's most annoying magic was gone, she could tell that Ventus came out victorious. Didn't mean she could just relax though. He could be getting eaten by a monster right now for all she knows.

Well, she'd just have to find out, wouldn't she?

-About 4 hours of painful trudging through the snow later-

"Zzzzz…"

"…Seriously?"

To say that she was shocked would…be an understatement. For one, this entire village was empty, and an eerie vibe was overflowing out from it like a stench being left open to the outside air.

Secondly, she soon discovered a cat girl laid down on the floor. She was by no means dead, but by no means exactly 'alive' as well. It's as if her body was being forced to a state of unconsciousness.

And lastly, once she entered the church, she got a nice view of the battlefield.

The floor was covered with rubble, various holes could be spotted dotting the back wall of the church, and a lot of blood was splattered all over the floor. They're all frozen now though.

The CPU of Lowee was nowhere in sight.

Oh, she also later found Ventus, who was sleeping atop one of the benches with no visible expressions on his face.

She tried poking him several times, clapping her hands near his ears, and even forcing his eyes open by force, but no matter what she did, he would just, stay like that, asleep.

It was also worthy to note that, despite seeing that CFW Trick was nowhere near here, at all, there was still an unsettling and eerie feeling coming from this church, from below this church to be more precise.

Taking a deep breath, she slowly made it around the church and found the stairs. She could not see where it was heading due to the poor lighting, but wherever this thing was going to bring her, it wasn't going to be pretty.

She shivered, another surge of Negative Energy coursing out from the earth.

This wasn't the 'Negative Energy' that her four supervisors and her fellow evildoers had been using. This…This was the _true_ Negative Energy, a bundle of despair and hatred that even infected the ground itself.

It was her first time ever being this close to something like this. And already, she could just imagine what horrors lied deep inside. She shivered once more.

She was afraid.

But she pushed through.

And perhaps, she should have not.

"What…i-is…this…?"

Down the stairs, lit by only the small sparkles of water and blood, she saw…hell. That was the best word she could use to describe it. Hell.

The basement had about the same amount of area as the church, mostly made out of stone bricks. Someone could probably come in and fill this place with 4 cars, and then stack another 4 cars above them. That's just how big this place is.

But that hardly mattered to the shaken girl, because lying all across the floor, tied to the walls, and stabbed into the stone were people, the villagers that she had assumed were missing. Most, if not all, were dead.

A stench of rotten meat and diluted blood filled the air, and she couldn't help taking a step back from all that. Not only that, while they were no longer alive, the feelings they had, carried over from their lives, were now tainted and became Negative Energy factories, constantly producing.

And, while dark, she could spot cables, running from person to person, all connecting them to a single girl. Among all of the victims, she was the only one standing, and was the one producing the most Energy.

She was fairly young, probably around 14 or 15 years old. She had spiky blonde hair, well, she assumed so at least. Because by now, nearly all of her hair had been tainted by a muddy black colour.

 _…Wait a second. Are those…cat ears?_

Her mind immediately flew to that cat girl from earlier. Could this girl be her sister?

Cold sweat was pouring out of her body, her skin shivering from the madness that lied within the basement. She…She couldn't take it anymore. Slowly, she turned around, and-

"It's quite messy in here, isn't it?"

"Hyaa!?"

Just as she was about to leave, she suddenly saw Ventus standing on the stairs. Freaking out, she was about to fall into the pile of corpses, but Ventus managed to catch her before that happened.

Unlike Linda, Ventus looked at the scene quite calmly, if slightly disgusted at the stench. His hair was still messy from the fight and his clothes definitely weren't doing much better.

Actually, the more Linda looked at him, the more she realised that the 'calmness' he was showing wasn't that at all, but instead a distant and apathy, as if the crimes that had been committed here was something common for him.

That only spurred on more questions than she needed, so she saved it for a later date. For now…

"C…Can we s-stop this…?" She managed to ask with a weak voice. All the Negative Energy was beginning to intoxicate her, and she was starting to feel dizzy.

"…It's possible, but I'm not strong enough to take it all in, _not without breaking my body at least._ "

"…?" As the last part he spoke was a whisper, she only managed to catch the 'breaking' part. She wasn't sure what he'd be 'breaking', but she could take several guesses, none of which were nice to deal with.

You see, taking in CFW Trick's Negative Energy and using it to fuel his [Helheim] caused him to nearly break his body by Cellular Overdrive. If he had taken in a little bit more than he did, his body would have exploded like a firework, much like how Trick did.

A bit of a half white lie if he had to admit.

Recalling that moment caused him to grin a little, which garnered an odd look from Linda.

As for what Cellular Overdrive is…well, to put it simply, if someone uses too much energy, mana, share energy, negative energy, or anything else, far beyond their 100%, then they run the risk of tearing apart the body from the inside.

It involves something about the cells or whatnot, but he forgot most of the details. Not that it mattered that much. All he needed to know was that cracks will appear when that happens, and it really hurts.

 _Now then…_

While he would've liked to make use of this newly found Energy factory, he felt that Linda, Kei, or anyone really, would enjoy seeing him do so, especially with what the procedures actually entailed.

"Come on. Let's get out of here. I'll treat you to some more flan, okay? Oh, and you take up the fighting. I'm still tired."

"O…Okay."

With that, they left the church. Ventus spared one last silent glance at the empty halls, before he closed the door behind him, leaving the destruction behind.

"…Hey, Linda. Where's the cat girl?"

"Huh? She's over there."

She pointed at the house she put the cat girl in, and Ventus went inside, not before gesturing her to stay outside, much to Linda's confusion and suspicion.

Inside, Ventus saw the girl, lying motionlessly on a blue couch. A small trace of sunlight breached through the curtains and landed on her sleeping face, one that will never truly wake up. Slowly he reached onto his waist, pulled out his short sword,

And slit her throat.

Cleanly, efficiently, silently. Blood seeped out of the wound, and sooner or later, she'd be dead. It's a better fate than being perpetually held as a Negative Energy factory in his opinion, so he's doing her a favour.

Cleaning his blade off with a space cloth he found by the kitchen, he promptly went to the door and went out. Linda was there, standing by the snow-filled road, looking at him and probably trying to find the correct moment to ask him what he just did.

…Well, no matter what she asked, he'll never answer anyways.

That's just who he is.

This kind of dirty work should be left all on him. Girls like Linda and Kei wouldn't like doing this stuff, even if they were quite tough in their own ways. Somehow he doubted if Linda had ever even killed someone before.

Judging from her expressions from seeing that pile of corpses before, the answer seems to be no.

It was an enigma, since, you know, she was allied to the group that sacrificed people to use them as Energy factories. But, on the other hand, it's nice to know that she's still a young girl on the inside.

Well-

"Alright, I'm done checking up on stuff. Let's head back."

For now, they should return to Lowee's Basilicom. He wondered if he'll finally get to see her angry for once, since the last time was a failure.

With that fleeting thought, he sighed and turned away from the village.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

* * *

"…Ngh…?"

Slowly, she stirred from her sleep, her eyes wavering and cloudy. Her usually neat hair was all over the place. Judging from the coldness she felt despite the warm blanket above her, she was probably still naked-

Blanc froze.

Her mind instantly jogged to life, and worry began sprouting once more. She jumped out of the bed, the blanket slipping off and hitting the floor, revealing her body to the chilly indoor air, with only a towel wrapped around her chest to cover her…'ample' chest.

Her senses were still on overdrive from the recent experiences she went through, but as it seems like she's been sleeping inside quite a luxurious hotel room, it looks like the danger has been suspended.

She sighed softly, hugging her body to find some sort of warmth in this air-conditioned room. She shivered, the soft coldness of the room brought back recollections of the hellish process she nearly submitted to.

It was something she never wanted to go through, ever again.

She turned her head to the left, gazing out the window to stare at the snowy night sky, still mostly obscured by the many clouds. A scene she knew so very well.

It calmed her a bit, seeing something familiar after the many nightmares she had to partake in. But it was only a brief moment, as her worry soon reached out to her two little sisters, who she had to watch get beaten down as she was carried away by that monster's goons.

How were her sisters? What the hell did that bastard do to them? Why was she here? How is she still conscious? Where did all her Negative Energy go?

So many questions passed by her mind, but while some were worrying, she had this feeling that something worse was going to come. All this worry will simply be wasted if all fails!

With her mind set straight, it was time to head out.

"…Ah. I'm naked."

Or not. She can't really go out in a simple towel wrap, could she? It'll be good fanservice and all, but the coldness of the eternal winter will freeze her before she even makes it half-way. A good set of clothes would be her first priority.

There lies the problem.

Inside the one cabinet in this hotel room, she found…3 choices.

First, was lingerie. No, she was not going to wear that outside.

Second was a provocative shirt that only went down to her belly button. It also didn't leave much to the imagination, not that any was needed. To pair up with it, a set of blue short jeans to finish the clothes all up. She was also not wearing this.

Third, a one-piece white dress with a cute flower design trailing the bottom edges of the dress, with pink frills on the bottom as well. It was…moderate. But, another problem was-

There were no panties.

Was…Was she seriously going to need to wear one of these outside, without any undergarments!? H-How would she feel, uh, 'down there'? It'd probably feel really cold actually.

 _But! For the sake of making sure her sisters were okay, I'll do it!_ She motivationally shouted to herself as she took the one-piece dress and put it on. She neatly folded the towel and placed it on a nearby desk, before she went out.

Walking through the empty halls, hearing her own muffled footsteps echo through, she got to the elevator door and pressed the button. In seconds, the elevator arrived and she stepped in, awkwardly putting her hand over her exposed regions.

*Ding!* The elevator stopped moving and opened. Stepping out, she simply waved goodbye to the lady at the counter before she left the hotel. Her eyes opened a bit when she realised that she had been resting at 'Ritour' Hotel, one of the most expensive hotels in Lowee.

She'll have to make sure to thank her saviour. Paying for the cost couldn't have been easy.

Enough of that however!

Awkwardly holding her dress in place against the freezing snowy wind, Blanc slowly hiked the roads, heading towards the Basilicom. She watched as piles of snow began to form on the roads, before they melted away just as fast.

Not even the smartest magician could understand why that is, but some theorized that this was made with godly magic, or some element they had never seen. Didn't matter what it was though. As long as it made the streets look cleaner, no questions were needed.

But, half-way through her walk, she saw him.

A young man, perhaps around 17 or 18 years of age, sitting on one of the side street benches with his left leg crossed over the other. He wore a simple set of a white shirt and black leather jeans, along with what looked to be black sneakers.

But the striking red hair and orange eyes he had, they were…interesting, even captivating.

Currently, he was just idly sitting, watching the snow fall from the clouds as they landed on the roads. After a while, he finally noticed Blanc just awkwardly standing there, and smirked with his right eye closed.

"Finally awake? Hope it isn't too cold down there."

He was of course implying to her lack of panties, which she immediately caught on to and blushed, gripping the edges of her skirt in embarrassment. She would've been angry, but…Well, it's night right now, and shouting out in the snow at night would just make her look crazy.

They stayed like that for a while, just silently staring at each other.

"…Who, are you?"

"Me? I'm Ventus, just your comfy neighbourhood adventurer in search of his little sister."

He answered with a chuckle, before he returned silent, watching a snowflake land on his numb and probably very internally injured left hand.

Over time, he closed his other eye as well, trying to get some respite while waiting for Blanc to finally answer, who was still in her daze. Should he snap her out? He later decided against it, occasionally opening one of his eyes to see her cute face.

Thinking about it, comparing their body sizes, Kei and Blanc had quite the similarities. They were both short, had short hair, were petite and probably only needed one hand to lift up. The only difference being their attitude, their hair and eye colour, and also their bust size.

He received a cold glare from her right after, which looked cuter than anything really. Especially with that flowery dress of hers.

But Blanc was more confused than anything right now.

Aside from one certain hot-blooded redhead of a dragon slayer, there were no other adventurers with red hair, and especially not someone with this level of strength. Was his saying a lie then?

Somehow, she doubted his credibility, but on the other hand, he seems genuine enough to not lie about this. That, and the two conflicting energies inside of him.

 _W-Why does he have Share Energy AND Negative Energy!? That's impossible!_

It's the law of life. White contrasts black. Night disrupts day. And just as well, Negative Energy corrupts the purity of Share Energy. To have them like that, side by side, whirling inside this oddity of a man named Ventus, was impossible!

"Oi. Wake up."

He lightly tapped her on the back, just to snap her out, which gained him a soft shriek from her as she turned around, her eyes glaring daggers at him.

She was shivering however, testament to the light clothing she was wearing in this snowy night. A soft sigh spilled from his lips, as he stared back at her.

"Come on. It's cold. Let's go and sleep, alright? Waiting here out in the cold for hours wasn't the best idea it seems."

And with that, he chuckled a bit as he walked off towards the Basilicom.

It'd been a short exchange between the two, but somehow, just somehow, she felt like she knew him better than any living being in this world. About his personality, his attitude, and…well, she wasn't quite sure how to explain it herself, but…

She felt like there was a connection between them.

Well, maybe that's just her fascination on his two conflicting energies giving her a slight bias, but, even then…

She sneezed, hugging her body tightly to conjure some warmth within the snowy atmosphere. As he said, standing out here was cold enough, and she'd-…Huh. She just noticed that Ventus was already nowhere in sight.

The moonlight shone down upon her path.

* * *

"…What did you say?"

Deep inside the caverns, hidden from the eyes of the people, a pair of monstrous beings stood around a large table. Their large builds and commanding auras filled and dwarfed every human being that stood under them.

"It's as I said madam. CFW Trick has been defeat-, no, annihilated."

CFW Brave replied back, changing his last words to better fit the feeling he had when CFW Trick disappeared from this world.

He was a large being, much like CFW Trick. But unlike that disgusting bastard, he had a mech-like body, much like a g*ndam. On his back were a pair of metallic dragon wings, with a large blade hung in between them. On his chest, was a large golden lion head, with neon lighting placed in between its eye sockets for some reason.

But unlike his terrifying build, he was a humble and noble man. His voice was humble and wise, unlike a certain other monster.

"Can he be recovered?"

Opposite to him, was CFW Magic, another of the supervisors and was the leader of the 4-, well, it was now 3.

Unlike the other 3, she looked much closer to a normal human being. She had long pink hair worn in pigtails with dragon-like yellow eyes. Her skin was light purple in colour, which one could see easily since she wasn't wearing much, if at all actually.

Her 'clothes' consisted of a set of revealing black armour, which looked more like a bikini more than actual armour. She had a large spiky black halo floating above her, and on the wings on her back were a set of 4 blade-like objects attached to one pivot point.

Normally, she would also be wearing an eye-patch over her right eye, but it was being washed by one of her maids right now.

"I fear not, madam."

But while her appearance and clothing were questionable, the fact that Trick completely disappeared from the face of the planet was even more so!

The supervisors, the CFW's, were a culmination of mana tainted by Negative Energy, which would make true 'death' impossible to achieve. If they did 'die', they would simply be locked outside of time. Until someone revives them through certain methods, they will stay in that perpetual stillness.

So for Brave, the most honest and noble of them to say that it was 'impossible' to bring him back, this brought up several concerns.

What happened to him? What caused something so major that Trick was unable to revive?

Who did this to him? How strong was this individual?

The seed of fear had been planted into her, but she refused to let something like that faze her from her goals. In some ways, she was glad that Trick was the one to fall, since not many liked him in the first place.

"…Hmph. That's fine. The day of her resurrection is coming closer after all! A single loss wouldn't hinder us!"

"As you say, madam."

With that, the discussion was dismissed, and the many grunts standing around left with stiff scared faces.

A tense moment of silence was shared between the two, until,

"Ah~, but still, to think I would be the one to free Arfoire-sama, ah~, my dream~!"

Magic sighed happily as she held her hands together, her yellow eyes sparkling with stars floating all around her.

 _There she goes again…_

Brave didn't have as massive of a change as Magic did, but his attitude was much more relaxed and carefree than his knight-like speech earlier. Her backed up against the wall and leaned against it, crossing his arms as he readied his ears for what's to come.

"I wonder what Arfoire will do for me~? Kya~, I can't wait!"

You see, while Magic was truly a cold and calculative leader, she also had her…quirks. For one, she was a massive fan of Arfoire-, no, even calling her a 'massive fan' would be an understatement. It was more like she had an obsessive fascination for her.

She was also very shy, and she likes to hide her true nature, only showing it to her beloved brother.

And yes, Brave was her brother.

"Aha~! Arfoire-Sama~!"

"Hah…"

The night was long and tiresome for the humble man.

* * *

The time was now morning, and the wonderful smell of a newly baked flan was filling the Basilicom's kitchen.

Standing behind the oven, with gloves worn on his hands and an apron tied over his clothing, Ventus carefully pulled the oven open and took out his-, well, _everyone's_ breakfast.

Behind him, Blanc was there, her eyes vacantly staring at him, her eyes looking even more glazed and dead then last night. Her head rested on her hands as she slouched over the table, her head filled with countless concerns.

Last night, when they finally managed to make it back, her first concern was to check up on her two sisters. But…seeing those two, weakened and corrupted, tainted by the Negative Energy, her heart shattered.

She failed. Both as a CPU and an older sister.

It was when it hit her, that their presence alone kept her motivated, to keep her spirits up even in the harshest of times. Now, now that they were sick and unable to do anything, now that their presence was no longer here, she felt like a part of her was missing.

"Here, eat up. Want some tea?" Ventus placed the recently created and cut flan on the table and asked so. Even as Blanc gave no answer, he simply shrugged and went off to make some tea.

A heavy silence hung in the air, both of them unwilling to start any conversations with the other. Blanc gazed at the slice of flan on the plate, before she pushed the flan away and drooped her head onto the-

"Mghp!?"

Well, she was about to go back to her depressed mode again, but before she could, Ventus took a spoonful of the flan he placed and shoved it into her mouth.

This was a bit unlike him, but all her depression showing on display was getting a teeny bit irritating for the man. After all, he did just save her from a fate worse than death itself, and now she's gone all brooding and sad!? How rude!

"Mmm!"

"Eat. The. Flan."

After struggling for a good bit, she puffed her cheeks in anger and tasted the flan, which, she had to admit, tasted very good. Satisfied, Ventus pulled out the spoon from her mouth and placed it back on her plate.

"G-Gah, w-what was that for, you piece of shi-!?"

"Don't be like that, it's still the morning. Or do you have enough energy to go out already?"

His eyes shone like that of a tiger's, staring right into her own dim eyes. There was no compassion or worry, but no mockery or irritation. Just a sense of neutrality and a genuine desire got her to eat more of the flan.

Some time later, as promised, he made her some tea and sat down beside her, enjoying some of his own flan. A peaceful smile formed on his face as he savoured the flavour of his first meal in, like, two days.

He was beginning to think that his lack of proper eating was a universal constant somehow.

"…So, what's your plan?"

She answered not. In fact, that only seemed to bring back most of her worries as her eyes sunk and her expression saddened. A hint of rage surfaced as she glossed over the thought of revenge, but as she recalled just how easily she got her ass handed to her, revenge seemed even more impossible now.

She gripped the edges of her dress, some of her emotions spilling out from her silen-

"Mph!?"

Before, once again, Ventus takes another spoonful of Flan and shoves it into her mouth.

"Here, have some more."

"M-Mmm! Puah! J-Just tell me first!"

He let out a soft chuckle, which only served to feed her growing embarrassment and anger. It's not often, if ever, for Blanc, the strongest(physically) of the four goddesses of Gamindustri to get spoon-fed by another person, especially not by a man.

But he didn't care.

Something about her was…making him annoyed. He…wasn't completely sure why, but looking at her face, her eyes cast down and her expression darkened from her failures, and the lack of will to stand up, or even her denial to eat his flan, was really tipping him off.

"Hah…" He rubbed his temples and sighed. Trying to console her slowly like this was getting nowhere. He needed to drive it home.

Eating the last piece of his flan, he took quick sip of tea and stood up, much to Blanc's surprise.

"Listen. You've failed. You were taken out, and if it wasn't for me, you wouldn't be here-, no, even before that, you were a failure as a sister. Those two simply wanted your attention, but you gave them none. Don't you understand now why they're so rowdy?"

"…"

"You may be CPUs or something, but remember, you're mortal. If they got caught like you did and you left them, what would've happened? Strip their power to harvest Share Energy, and they're just human. Strip yours, and you're nothing more than a human."

–You're weak

His words sunk in like knives stabbing into her heart. She didn't know where he knew all this from, but it didn't matter. He was right.

Tears were slowly building in her eyes, each realisation striking in as she recalled their antics, running around the Basilicom like the children they are.

"If you're ready, come to the lobby. We'll discuss our plans."

With those words, he left the kitchen, leaving behind Blanc to weep with no one by her side.

He didn't need to intervene. No, more like he felt that it'd be better if he didn't. They were her sisters, and whatever she'd do to make up to them was of her own call, not influenced by anyone else.

And besides, he didn't have any obligation to do so anyways.

Not after what he did to his sister.


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

….

 _Flames._

 _All around him, flames._

 _The flicker of red, the yellow sparks, they all carved themselves into his mind._

 _It hurt. Even in this state of numbness, he could tell it hurt. His breath was short and painful, and his right arm went up to grasp his chest, his body breaking down. His left arm was twisted and torn in various places._

 _–What was I doing…?_

 _That's right. He recalled that moment. The flash of blood, the touch of cold steel, the feeling of death lingering around him._

 _He dropped to his knees, sweat pouring out of his skin. His body was burnt and wounded in many places, and countless splinters and scars decorated his already dying body._

 _–Where…is this?_

 _He looked around. Farther than his eye could see, flames burnt wildly through the air. Scattered among those flames, were debris of white metal, their paint burnt off by the intense heat and the damage they took._

 _–Why was I…?_

 _Finally, he noticed it._

 _A dead body, one that belonged to a young girl. His hazy eyes could not make out her figure, but he knew who she was. From the clothing she wore, from the hint of red hair, to the one massive wound on her heart._

 _That's…right._

 _She was-_

* * *

Ventus silently shook his head from the thought. Perhaps his previous one-sided talk with a very depressed Blanc had brought up some emotion in him, and spurred a reaction. He scolded himself for that.

He could've been killed in his moment of thought.

Looking out the window he's been sitting beside to, he saw the slightly bright snowy sky, the sunlight obstructed by the passing snowy clouds. He could however tell that it was around an hour or two past noon.

Currently, he was sitting inside one of the few halls in the Basilicom, organising his current thoughts on his lonesome. Linda and Kei were in the lobby, doing their own tasks and all.

They were probably worried for Blanc and were trying to cheer her up, saying things like how he 'doesn't understand her heart' and 'can't empathize with her', which he accepted without any complaint. They were true after all.

But judging by the fact that it's past lunch now, and Blanc hasn't shown a single sign of moving, their plans of trying to cheer her up seems to have been met with little success. His words might have created a deep chasm for her to try and fill.

However, he felt like it was the right thing to do. If that girl could not find her own convictions in the time of despair, then she was not cut out of being a ruler, or even a goddess.

Her true age may be unknown to him, but her heart was still young.

Then, suddenly-

"!?"

He felt it, a chill ran up his spine. Another huge sign of Negative Energy was heading this way. But, unlike Trick, it was refined and controlled, and hid itself well against the energies in the air. Without a great perception, no one would be able to sense it coming.

He jolted up from his seat, sending the chair tumbling down onto the floor as he ran. In 15 seconds or so, that being will land at…exactly the same place he first saw Trick.

Was it trying to investigate Trick's disappearance? Was it Trick's comrade then? Whatever the answers may be, danger was quickly making its way her, and it's his duty to keep the himself and his comrades alive.

Bolting through several sets of doors, he finally made it out to the broken room, where-

*BOOM!*

A loud explosion sounded, sending a cloud of dust and snow into the air. He managed to shield his eyes in time, but the extreme force sent him crashing into the wall.

The snow and dust settled, and out from it came-

"Holy shit…"

It was a hulking being. It towered over him, much like how Trick did when they first met. But unlike that disgusting bastard, he towered over him, not just in size, but in power and presence as well.

"…You're the one who took out Trick, I presume?"

"K-Kah. Damn right. And what? Looking to avenge your fallen comrade?"

With a body that resembled that of a certain mech, with a pair of jet wings on his back, and with a massive flaming sword held in his right hand,

CFW Brave, has arrived.

"I would be destroyed, wouldn't I? But, no, I've come here to negotiate with you."

"Oho? Let me hear it, would you?"

While his voice was dripping with sarcasm, he was also half-intrigued by what this being came to offer him. He seems like someone who'd suck at trying to role-play, so he was interested in how this was going to play out.

And besides, there was something else he wanted to know as well.

"What is your objective? To what purpose do you oppose us?"

Ah. I see. In that moment, he realised something, and his mouth went open. 'Oppose them'? Was that what they saw it as? Well, it's not wrong, but it was far from the truth. He let out a sigh and shook his head.

"Oppose you? Why would I do something like that? I'm just there to kill some bastard with a weird fetish. 'Sides, if I really did oppose you,"

–One of us would've been dead already.

He didn't finish the sentence, but the sudden stop made the saying more dramatic. And while that mech face didn't hold much emotion upfront, he would like to instil some fear into that towering robot.

Brave fell into a short moment of silence, before Ventus continued.

"Also, you're just trying to revive Arfoire, right? I don't have anything against that."

"!? You don't?"

"Nope. It'll help my own goals anyway. Although…I am curious, with what method will you use to bring back ma-, Arfoire? And for what?"

Brave saw the genuine truth in his words.

As a being of noble dignity and a humble pride, he knew no lies would get through him, and in return, no lies would come out of him as well. This man, Ventus, who was standing before him with a small grin was telling the truth. He just knew.

He truly did bear no hatred or malice towards him, and there was no sense of hidden hostility and danger present in the man. He relaxed, thinking that telling him some information about it would do no harm.

"By harvesting Negative Energy from the CPUs, we could perform a ritual to bring her back. We currently hold 3 captive, and one is-"

Saved by him. That single action threw a cog-, no, an entire wrench into the machine, and now they were trying their best to fix it. Was Brave trying to ask him to hand her over?

Well, no matter. Whatever he said, he wouldn't hand over someone he'd went up and saved from danger. Just like how she felt a connection to him, he too felt that something was connecting them.

Unlike her however, he knew what it was. But he'll save explaining that for a rainy day.

But-

"It won't work. Even if I give Blanc over, and you do this ritual thing with all 4 of them, Arfoire wouldn't be revived, or at least, her _true_ form wouldn't be brought back. Your plan has a major flaw."

"…And what may that be?"

"Do you have someone as a catalyst, someone who holds memories about who she truly was? If you summoned her now, you would only bring back a culmination of your will, taking shape of an Arfoire twisted by your image of her. You won't be reviving her, just making someone else inhabit her body. That's **not** Arfoire."

Brave was confused. 'Catalyst'? 'True form'? What did he mean by that? And why did he know so much about that?

"Let me ask this, who do you think Arfoire is? Your description, I mean. Obviously, you know who Arfoire is."

"…She is…Death. And she will bring salvation to the race of men."

For some reason, Ventus sneezed when he heard that, along with a shiver running down his back. Perhaps the surrounding cold was getting to him a bit.

"Your answer's wrong. Sorry 'bout that."

He sighed and raised waved his right hand in disappointment. He had hoped that someone would finally get it right, but damn, it seems like the history of Arfoire really has been convoluted by the countless stories about her.

But Brave could not understand. All his life, he's searched for countless ways to enact this judgement, and his life-long work has led him to Arfoire, the woman who brought death upon many humans in her time.

He lived his life ostracised by human society. That much was obvious, looking and fighting like a monster despite his kind nature.

He and Magic were CFW, which were culminations of Negative Energy that had gathered into a sacred divine space and manifested into a physical form.

But that brought them drawbacks.

Just as they received powers from Negative Energy, in the same manner as Ventus does, their minds are constantly flooded by all the misdeeds of humanity, all the chaos and disregard and hatred they carry in their hearts.

At some point, Magic couldn't take it anymore, and he understood.

He needed to find a way to stop this. Death was no an option, as they would be revived again after some time. Stopping evil wasn't a choice either, as humans will always carry hatred and darkness inside their hearts.

Years began to pass by, and Magic continued to get worse. She might hide it under that façade of hers, but he knew. He knew she was suffering.

And that thought haunted him every passing day and night.

But then, his mind stopped.

He came here exactly because he was worried about the person who ceased the existence of Trick. If he simply wanted to end all this suffering…couldn't he just ask him to end his existence?

He couldn't continue that thought however,

"Y-You…ha…?"

Ventus turned around to see Blanc, wearing a fluffy light brown jacket over her white dress, looking with utter fear upon the monstrous being of Negative Energy standing before her and Ventus.

Retreating from his earlier thoughts, he managed to decide against it and turn around, the wings behind him shining with flames as he began to lift off the snowy ground.

"I suppose we'll meet again."

"Sure do. Don't die yet, okay?"

 _That man was…interesting._ With that fleeting thought, the flames burst violently and he launched into the clouds, leaving behind the two to stare up at the falling snow.

Now, onto the squeaking chick sitting behind him.

"A-A…a…"

"Are you okay?"

There was no response. All she could do was sit there, tears building up in her eyes. From the looks of it, she was…traumatized. Perhaps by her kidnapping?

He wasn't quite sure, but if there's one thing he's sure about, it's that she'd be getting a cold sooner or later if she just sits there all scared. Carrying her still scared self, he brought her back to her own room and silently sneaked out of the Basilicom.

He wanted to go somewhere to clear his head.

* * *

A church.

Silent, pristine. Peaceful, impactful.

At the west side of the city, a large church stood, withstanding the snowy winds outside, keeping the inside warm for those in need of protection.

Inside, only a single priest could be seen. He was kneeling upon the altar, his hands clasped together in prayer as he voiced his words to the gods he prayed for.

The church was decorated with a simple stone altar for the priest to preach and pray, and rows of wooden benches for the people to sit and hear his words.

Today was not the day for prayer however, as many were in dismay over the recent rumour that their CPU had been captured. While it was nothing but a rumour, reality was conceived by what we believe, not by truth. And this has struck fear into the hearts of the people.

"You pray to your god, not knowing whether your faith will go answered?"

Then, a voice asked him that. He slowly opened his eyes and lifted himself, turning around to see a man with red hair sitting casually on one of the wooden benches, his left leg crossed over his right one.

"That is faith." He answered kindly, recognising that this man was neither putting down his faith or belittling him. He was simply asking a genuine question, one he genuinely wanted an answer for.

The man shifted in his seat, seeming somewhat annoyed at him.

"And what if your god doesn't exist? What if your faith is misplaced?"

"…That is the choice of the lamb. If they choose to believe or not, whether their god is real or not, that simply comes down to their choices. If they believe that their faith is kept, then they carefully choose their ways. If they do not, their actions are spurred from the tiniest of emotion."

The annoyance he had melted, and he simply stayed silent, the questions he had already answered. He simply cracked a light grin and opened his eyes, those orange orbs of his stared directly at the priest, observing him.

The priest did not speak, only simply moving to him and taking a seat next to him. He relaxed his back upon the wood and sighed.

"So, what brings you here, my lord?"

"…So you knew. 'Guess that makes it easier than."

Ventus got his usual grin back as he looked at the man, his eyes much softer now.

"Any priest who steps into this place knows of you, lord Ventus. It has been a while, hasn't it?"

"…Sure has."

The two men exchanged an understanding silence, the whistles of the falling snow seemed to dampen as they sat. The cold snowy air became just the slight warmer.

To be honest, Ventus had no idea why he was here. There was no reason for him to go here, and he certainly didn't have anything he wanted to do with the church of this priest. But…

Perhaps he just wanted to have a chat with someone, someone who truly knew of him. Not personally of course, but he knew enough from the teachings he had, and that in itself was pretty cool.

"What has made you return, my lord?"

"…My sister."

The priest spoke no more. He knew of his legend and story, and what had happened to him and his sister. It was not pretty, something that Ventus never wanted to experience ever again.

What had happened to his sister and how he came back, those questions were something he had to save for a later date. For now, he simply wanted to enjoy his time with this legend of a man.

He was, after all, an important figure for Lowee.

In the end, since the sun was starting to set, the priest had to close the church for the day. They did however go on to eat some curry at a nearby restaurant, chatting about the priest's daily life and Ventus recent battles, before the two went off on their own ways.

Their meeting was a short one, but memorable.

"Aah…Time to work, I suppose. Let's try and get home this night, and without blood all over again. _That seems to happen every time though…_ "

But, now was the time to put those factories back in that distance village to use. Sooner or later, that thing's going to overload with Negative Energy and everything's going to go downhill from that. He might as well make use of it instead of it all going to waste.

His allies might not enjoy this however.

* * *

Skipping ahead several hours, he was now standing inside that ever so ruined church he battled Trick in. The aches of Trick's defeat lay nowhere in sight, every single speck of existence he once had was destroyed by his [Helheim].

Making his way down the staircase, he descended into the darkness, his eyes catching sight of the horrors Trick committed on these people. Their lifeless bodies tied to the walls, ceiling, and floor with no regard of their humility.

And standing in the centre of it all, tied around with black cables was a young cat-girl.

The sister of that assassin cat-girl he murdered.

Unfazed by the stinking smell, he placed his right hand on the wall and used his newly acquired magic, creating several black cables to connect into the other cables in the area, fusing them all and attaining dominance over them.

It was time to get to work.

He dragged out the produced Negative Energy from them all, sucking out all the energy from them and turning them back to normal, lifeless corpses. The only exception remaining was the young cat-girl, the main production line between them all.

The energy flowed through the cables and into him, overloading his senses as his nerves did its best to adapt to the sudden surge of energy. Countless emotions and memories flowed into his mind, and he closed his eyes and accepted them all.

It was the least he could do.

A minute went by, and he lifted his hand from the wall, before slumping and crashing against the wall. His breaths were short and hot, his chest raised and sunk as he feared his heart bursting through his chest.

He sapped all of the normal corpses of their Energy, and he was left in this state, tired, exhausted, weakened.

If he was to suck out the main factory…God bless his soul.

However, he had a small grin on himself, feeling that, despite the fact that he could spot his body dotted with many signs of cellular overdrive, purple cracks running across his skin, he could, at least, proudly say that his strength had taken quite a leap. His mana reserves especially.

Let's say…[Hades' Wrath]. It's a move she could pull off about 4 times before his battery runs dry. A 25% energy consumption.

Now however, it's dropped to only being 15%, which meant that he could pull off 6 attacks with 10% remaining. Still not an ideal number for him, considering the demon he's going up to help his comrades, but it's good enough.

 _Now then…_

His eyes trailed towards the lifeless cat-girl standing in the centre, her eyes staring blankly at the floor, her skin as pale as marble. For once, he had a visible frown on his face, which was caused by genuine pity, even if he didn't admit it.

He wobbled down the steps and stopped before her, slowly bringing his hand to pet the girl's head, his frown growing deeper knowing that he'd get no response.

Slowly, he reached for his waist,

And slit her throat.


	11. Chapter 11

**HUGE disclaimer before you read this. Because of the dumb person that is me, I accidentally uploaded chapter 11 instead of chapter 10 last week, which meant that you most likely skipped a chapter. Sorry for the problem. It's fixed now, but still, sorry.**

* * *

 **Chapter 11**

* * *

After yesterday, Blanc really didn't feel like waking up for the day.

Hearing Ventus' criticisms, seeing CFW Brave standing before her, the crazy clashes of energy she felt from the two almost instantly knocked her out.

It only drove home the point of how small and powerless she was in comparison to these behemoths of power. The incomplete Arfoire she fought back then felt like a simple grunt compared to Ventus, and even then, she had to fight TOGETHER with the rest of the CPUs.

In this moment, she was a complete and utter failure.

The other 3 CPUs were captured, her two twin sisters were corrupted by Negative Energy, the CPU Candidate of Planeptune is still missing, and she could do absolutely nothing to help in this war.

She laid unmoving in her bed, her hands tightly clenching the bed sheets as she cried in frustration. Again, she experienced the dream of seeing her twin sisters get corrupted and hurt, while she could do nothing but watch. The expressions they had as they called out her name, their hands reaching out towards her as Trick did whatever he wanted to them, it haunted her.

But she had to get up.

For her sister, for Ventus, for her people, but most importantly, for herself.

She slowly forced herself out of the bed, letting the blanket slide away from her, revealing the white dress she was still wearing from yesterday. Gently bringing her feet down onto the floor, she stood up and walked over to the cabinet, taking and wearing a large white jacket with brown fur on the side to keep her warm.

She stepped out of the room, the chilly morning coldness stabbing into her skin. She ignored the shivers running along her skin and walked towards the living room, where she could smell the nice fragrant of warm tea.

Reaching the door, she was about to open it, when-

"They what!?"

She heard a scream, accompanied with the sound of a pair of hands smashing against a table. Most likely, someone had just jumped up from their seat and smashed onto the table in shock.

She leaned in closer and looked through the gaps.

There, she saw Ventus, Kei, and Linda sitting around a table, a cup of tea prepared for the three of them to drink. The one who had just jumped up was Linda, a look of shock and worry spreading across her face.

She did take into notice that Ventus didn't look as well as she remembered. His face was pale, and she could tell that he hasn't gotten much sleep as of late.

"…You heard me. Brave came her yesterday and told me his plans. Hello? Still there? Ventus to Linda? Earth to Linda?"

Ventus weakly answered back with his 'sarcastic?' remarks as he watched Linda worry it out with a grin. Kei was just silently sipping her tea, passively listening to the conversation. But she could tell that there was a slight look of worry and anger on her face. Who that anger was directed towards, she did not know.

"Ah, uh, sorry." Scratching her cheek, she apologised and quickly sat down. Ventus sighed as he took a sip from his tea, before he continued speaking.

"So, he plans to turn all 4 CPUs into Negative Energy factories and use the accumulated Energy to revive 'Arfoire'. At this point, the only thing holding them back is Blanc, who I saved by smashing Trick several times through hard concrete."

"Is…All we need to do is hand her over, and we'll be able to revive my mother, right?"

She….what!? That girl, right there, sitting among the two of them, was the child of Arfoire!? Blanc had to take several steps back to compose herself, calming herself down at the fact that the child of the woman who almost destroyed the world was in her house!

"…Linda. Who do you want to bring back, Arfoire, or your mother? There's a difference here."

"…Huh? My mom IS Arfoire, you know?"

"Ah, good. At least that's taken care for."

'?' Linda simply had a question mark floating over her head as she, along with Kei and Blanc, pondered why Ventus seemed so relieved at that confirmation. After a light chuckle, he continued his talk.

"There's the problem. If they only bring the 4 CPUs in, all they'll bring back is a personification of Negative Energy, in the shape of Arfoire, if slightly distorted. That's not what you and I exactly want, yeah?"

"Ah, um, yeah?"

She didn't exactly catch what he meant by that, but she agreed nonetheless.

"So, what's our plan then?" Kei asked as she set down her empty tea cup, watching as Ventus went over to her to fill it back up before he went back to sit down and answer her question.

"Simple. I'll-, we'll go there, and interrupt them. Easy enough, right? Obviously nothing too major was going to happen, riiight?"

And a nice lick of sarcasm was added at the end, just to drive home the point of how stupidly dumb this plan was. For one, they'll need to go and barge into the enemy's base, and two, something was _obviously_ going to go wrong.

But the one speaking here was Ventus, and…well, somehow Kei had this belief that he'll manage to do it, somehow.

With that, their talk was finally over, and everyone went on to enjoy their breakfast.

Blanc could tell however, that Ventus was hiding something crucial. Not about the plan, but about himself.

Why did he want to go alone? Why did he know Arfoire? Why was Arfoire's child sitting among them? Why did she feel like his strength suddenly rose drastically from yesterday?

Questions poured in and out of her head, confused and worried as to what that may entail. In her worry, she missed Ventus looking at her through the door, his eyes staring piercingly, glowing a shade of red.

Somehow she felt the intense desire to get the fuck away, **right now**.

* * *

Ventus was narrowminded, stubborn, and selfish.

He admitted that, and he'd seen what hell they could cause if he didn't keep them in check.

However, if there was a way to save his sister, no matter how obscure, he would take it, no matter what he needed to cast aside or sacrifice for it. It was the least he could do to repay the debt.

And honestly? Giving Blanc away would have saved him many headaches. No extra breakfast, no need to watch her all depressed, no need to keep himself tied down, nothing. All he needed to do was hand her over to Brave, get Arfoire revived, and walla! Mission accomplished!

But…well, he just didn't feel like it.

He could almost sense her feelings and thoughts at a spiritual level, going as far as knowing where she was at anytime and anyplace without as much as a thought.

And seeing all that regret, frustration, and hatred all aimed at herself for not being able to stand up for her twin little sisters was…endearing. It reminded him of himself to be honest, if much brighter than how his story played out.

But that still left him with a gaping problem, what to do now?

He did say that their best plan of action was to bust in like heroes, but he doubted he could face off against 3 CFWs at the same time while protecting Kei and Linda AND making sure Blanc was holed up in safety.

He'd just…die.

That's bad.

He needed an easier path to take, a solution he could use to lighten his burden a bit. Right now, all rests on him, and if he goes down, the rest of the team goes down as well.

"Hmm?"

An…easier path? No, perhaps those words weren't right. But…path…path…Why did he feel like he's forgetting something?

Then, it clicked.

Right here, right now, Ventus and his companions were in Lowee. He's lived here long enough to know the layout pretty well. Perhaps in his time running about in the outside world, he's forgotten some things,

But not this.

"The path of trials…"

A long road, spanning several tens of kilometres, an enormous quantity of mana swirling in the air causing a similar affect to a god's domain, monsters freely living and breeding, and a guardian that eliminated any who are deemed unworthy.

At the end of this hellish road, was an 'enhancer' as he called it. Long story short, it infuses ancient mana into someone's body and enhances all abilities they have to an incredible level.

"Path of trials?" While he did whisper, Kei still managed to hear the name, intrigued. It was a place she did not have on her map, or on anyone's map for that matter. It was a place unknown to the world.

Ventus looked at her and thought for a bit. While he's already gone through the path itself, Kei, Linda, and Blanc have not. If they managed to complete it…It wouldn't completely overpower them, but it'd help to lessen to burden on his shoulders.

To answer, he explained to her about the path of trials, along with the reward of getting stronger by beating it, before asking whether she, along with Linda and Blanc, would want to give it a try.

Losing wouldn't be a problem, since the path would just spit them back out into the snow, and by then, Ventus could come in to protect them until they woke up.

Kei looked at the sword on her hips warily, probably using her smarts and skills to calculate whether she even had a chance of trying to survive, overcome, and come back stronger without getting her ass beaten in one too many times.

But-

*Bang!* Even if Kei wasn't convicted on what to do, someone else was.

Blanc, riddled with the guilt of being powerless, couldn't help but slam the door open, her eyes staring at them with determination, perhaps too much determination even. Her eyes looked maniacal, but her burning resolve shined brighter.

Hearing that there was an unknown place that allowed her to get stronger, coming from an insanely powerful being that could kill CFW Trick and take on the pressure of Brave's presence, she couldn't be more sure.

And behind her, while invisible due to her Illusion Magic, was Linda, leaning her back against the wall with her arms crossed, one eye opened staring at them as well.

She was already ready with her iron bat tied on her waist and her body energised. While much more silent, she too was ready to head out and fight.

"…It seems they're ready. How about you? Ready to grind yourselves out? Don't worry, you won't die, physically anyways."

He taunted, a grin visible on his face as he eyed her, seeing the unrest and wariness in her eyes, mixed with a hidden tinge of excitement and wonder. It's quite nostalgic to see.

 _"A-Are you sure onii-chan…?"_

And painful too.

"F-Fine. I guess I can do that."

"…Huh? Oh, great. Get yourselves ready, we're heading out at noon. Oh, and for lunch, just take something out of the fridge, I've left some food there."

* * *

 _It was a starry night, the black sky dotted with many shining stars. It was a full moon tonight, the large white sphere floating above all existence._

 _There, Ventus stood upon a cliff, his dead, lifeless eyes staring out into the distance. His gaze was empty and unfocused, filled with no emotions._

 ** _"Painful, isn't it?"_**

 _He heard someone speak, the voice sending chills down his spine, but he didn't respond. He simply stared out. The voice was feminine, filled with ridicule, but also sounding soft from a sense of sympathy and understanding._

 _He said nothing, but in the deep reaches of his vacant mind, he agreed._

 _Staring down, his witnessed the hell that had manifested on this world. Corpses lied about, bloody weapons stabbed into the ground, cracks spreading out across the earth. The scent of blood lingered constantly._

 _–Who did this?_

 _He knew not._

 _–Why did this happen?_

 _He knew not._

 _–Why was **he** here?_

 _He knew not._

 _The Negative Energy lingering in the air, all born from the regrets, hatred, and foul desires of the corpses was suffocating, even taking form as a dark mist._

 ** _"Come on, let's go back. Nee-chan will get angry."_**

 _Once again, he nodded in agreement and turned around, leaving behind the scene of death. He came for nothing, felt, nothing, and ultimately gained nothing from this experience…No, perhaps, if there was one thing he learnt-_

 _Humanity was utter garbage at times._

* * *

After everyone got ready, Ventus and his group went out on their quest to get stronger, heading towards a place Ventus called the 'Path of Trials'.

…Well…Calling it a 'place' wouldn't be correct actually.

There's a reason why no one even knew of this place.

"W-What is…"

Blanc couldn't help but voice her surprise upon seeing…whatever _this_ was.

Not far south from where Lowee was, stood a lonely statue. It's figure had long been destroyed, due to the snow and winds brushing against it, slowly peeling off pieces after pieces. Now, all that remained was an unrecognisable lump of stone.

But even as its body withered, its inside had not.

Hidden deep inside the statue was a black and white gem, and this was what shocked Blanc the most.

Just as Ventus was an enigma, this gem was too. Holding both dense Negative and Share Energy inside like it was nothing, and even blending the two energies quite well enough to create a nice gradient between the black and white.

Without another word, Ventus simple bid good luck to the three girls and placed his hand over the gem. It shined upon his touch, a soft blend of black and white light, slowly consuming the four of them.

Before they knew it, they were standing over a straight road, about 10 Kilometres or so. Made out of pure…something, painted to look like a racing track, with a blue void surrounding them from all sides.

This was, the Path of Trials.

"So, welcome. As I said, I won't be helping you, since that's cheating. And don't worry, lose as many times as you need. Time won't pass when we're inside here, so good luck!"

With his words done and said, he stepped back a little and crossed his arms, grinning as he encouraged them to go on. Somehow Kei felt a little irritated.

And so, their trial began!

The first try was…ungraceful, at best.

The three girls were completely out of sync. They didn't have any regards of what was happening, and in a flash, they were kicked out into the snowy landscape outside. Being the nice guy he is, Ventus gently pulled the three back in every time they failed.

Blanc, probably too used to using her brute strength to overwhelm her opponents, failed miserably when any airborne or speedy enemies came to fight them. Before she would even get a chance to use her large hammer, or transform into her Goddess mode, they would strike and knock her out, mostly using their numbers to completely overwhelm her.

Kei was…slightly better, but also a bit aloof in her battles.

Since she spent a good chunk of her life studying and working as Lastation's supervisor, she didn't have much training in combat. While her mind was quick in creating tactics in battle, her body couldn't make up for it. Her sword techniques were also painfully terrible.

Linda was the best out of the 3. She could hold her own, fight against the incoming enemies using a 'hit and run' tactic, and use her illusions to bring her out of trouble when things go rough.

It didn't, however, make up for the fact that her cowardly nature dragged her down a bit too much when she comes up against a tougher enemy. Once something breaks through her illusions or is capable of kicking her down, she simply gives up and waits for the inevitable.

So, in essence,

One needs to work on her battle mindset, another needs to learn the essentials of fighting, while the other needs to stop hiding.

A troublesome trifecta of problems, if he had to admit.

Those problems were not something he could fix in a matter of a week, but needed months, maybe even years to finally fix. Kei's problem especially, as the art of battle and combat comes from experience, so she needed the most help out of them all.

Linda's cowardly nature could probably be fixed by some force, and Blanc's battle style should be able to be bent a bit through some short but gruelling training.

But after the 11th battle, he began to see another problem, one that belonged to the resident Lowee Goddess.

She couldn't transform. Or, to be exact, she couldn't use her HDD, or Hard Drive Divinity.

A special power only owned by CPU and their candidates, the HDD was when the CPUs finally decide to use their Share Energy to turn into their Goddess Form. This, along with a power boost and an appearance change, could even shift the CPU's personality a bit.

It was a CPUs ultimate trump card.

But like all skills, it too had a downside.

For one, any contact with Negative Energy in Goddess Form would result in disastrous results. The second was that it needed Share Energy to activate, so if someone were to run them dry or cut off their Energy supply, they would be forced to turn back.

And lastly, if they couldn't believe in themselves, HDD becomes nigh impossible.

If he had to guess…perhaps Kei was right, he might've been a bit too harsh on her. His words added on with her recent failures might have caused her to lose her confidence, hence causing to be unable to use HDD.

And because she couldn't use her HDD, she lost even more confidence.

He leaned back and closed his eyes, trying to think up a way to try and crack her shell of self-doubt. Sighing, he opened his eyes as he watched the three girls fail the trial once more and get kicked back out into the snow.

 _This was going to be a long one_ , he thought to himself as he went out to fetch the injured girls.


	12. Chapter 12

**I have to first apologise for the delay on this chapter. A built up pile of work and tasks I needed to handle, along with some...issues I had recently prevented me from doing much, so, yeah, sorry. I don't have much left to say. Enjoy!**

* * *

 **Chapter 12**

* * *

"Yeah, this isn't going anywhere, is it?"

Ventus could only sigh in a mix of frustration and acceptance at the sight of the three girls he brought here, all sleeping on a nice comfy bed to finally rest from all the ass beating they got from the path of trials.

Seriously, even if they couldn't die there, injuries remain, and holy shit did they look terrible.

Once again booking a nice room in the hotel Blanc stayed in for a bit, which then cost him even more of his credits, Ventus was downstairs testing out the tea they served at the café, and it was…okay. Not spectacular, but not bad.

Anyways, since 'Arfoire' would already be revived if they tried to train and get beaten up again, he needed an even easier alternative, one that would benefit all three of them easily, and one that would probably cause the most pain in the ass for him.

And all that left him with is…

 _Seriously? Just that?_

Actually, he was beginning to wonder if all of this was worth it just to _try_ and revive the Arfoire he knew. Like…seriously?

The only path he could take was probably to go around Lowee and search for some of relics from the old ages, which only he and several other people he knew even knew existed.

With a sigh of resignation, he quietly left the tea cup on the table, left the money together with it and left the hotel, the setting sun sadly covered up by the snowfall.

Since these relics were really spared apart from each other, with his [Ares' Chariot] as a booster, it'd probably take…13 hours? And that's with him running on the snow and using his wind-cloaked leg to kick off the ground at high speeds.

Leaving Lowee's borders, he began heading south, towards where the first relic was left.

The blade of untamed winds.

That was its name, if he recalled correctly at least, and as its name suggests, its special ability was to shoot out lots and lots of wind at the opponent. It's a large short sword, crafted with the scale of a wind dragon and something else he forgot.

Either ways, this one was for Kei, since not only does she use a short sword, but from what he's managed to witness, her thinking skills were fast and powerful, so she'd find the most uses for a sword such as that.

It still didn't alleviate the problem that Kei had no idea how to wield a sword, so he'd have to bring her again to the Path of Trials some time in the future.

Next up, was the Flower shield of deception.

As you can guess, this one was a complete fit for the illusion loving Linda. All she'd need to do was use it in tandem with her iron bat, and she'd be unstoppable. Hopefully.

In simple terms, this shield allows the wielder to bend light, allowing them to hide themselves in plain sight, or do the opposite, to bend so much light into the opponents eye to blind them for a few seconds, or forever.

This one was west from where the Blade of untamed winds was.

And lastly, The axe of enmity.

He hasn't seen Blanc used a axe yet, not from what he's _seen_ at least, but he's pretty damn sure that a large and massive weapon like an axe would fit quite nicely in her arsenal.

The problem though, lies in the fact that Blanc needs to actually learn and control the weapon, since the existence of this axe was an exact counter to her own existence as a goddess.

To explain, as the wielder holds more hostility towards the enemy, the more Negative Energy it stores from the user, and the more powerful it gets. At max power, it could unleash a devastating attack, using all the stored Energy.

See the problem here? If she can't control her emotions, and hence can't control how much Negative Energy is generated, then she's run the risk of overloading the axe and causing herself to get blown up in an explosion of Negative Energy, which would likely kill her in a nanosecond.

Not pretty, but it's a last bet.

Now, this one sadly, east from were the Blade of untamed winds was, which was the reason why this entire trip would take so long.

That aside however, there's still more relics hidden throughout Lowee, ones that only he and several trusted people knew. After all,

He crafted them all himself.

Thankfully, he didn't set up some crazy defence mechanism to protect them, since he could just destroy them and recreate them at will, but surely by now, with the amount of mana they were sheltered with, from what he recalled at least, surely something must have changed.

Monsters were probably all over the place now, seeking an unattainable catalyst of mana they could not touch or use. A relic of the gods, some would even say.

Sadly, as he expected, the small shrine he erected to place the items inside was crawling with monsters of all kinds. Thankfully, no dragons, so no hard fights were up, but many, MANY monsters crowded the place like a fucking concert.

 _"They all look like **them** , don't they?"_

They sure do, he silently agreed to the voice, not realising that a voice just spoke to his mind from nowhere. It did make him feel slightly nostalgic though, even if he didn't understand why that was.

Easily jumping over the initial crowd of monsters, he quickly stepped inside the small stone shrine, feeling the odd warmth of the snowless air. There, just like outside, another crowd of monsters, this time even more powerful than before, standing around a single short sword, placed over a small stone pedestal.

It was black in colour, with golden linings decorating the blade. The hilt was made out of pure obsidian, enchanted with ancient magic to fortify its hardness and keep it from detaching from the blade. At its centre, was a white spiral that-

"Ah."

He involuntarily let out a soft voice as he dodged an incoming laser strike from a beast, his mind having a sudden realisation.

And then, pain struck his heart.

This blade was…yeah, it was something he and his mentor created together, and a weapon he used often. A blade he held in his left hand, and one that would wreak havoc upon the enemies that stood before him.

And it too was the reason he lost most of the uses of his left arm.

Leaping over the horde of monsters, and a beautiful array of flames, ice beams, and lasers, he gripped the blade as he was flying by, and yanked it out of the pedestal, making a small but visible slash on it.

With his sword-, well, his sword for the time being, as the creator, he unleased the blade's highest attack, a cyclone the spread out over a specific area. He could control the size on his whim, but a bigger area naturally needed more mana to use.

There's also the fact that he's imbalanced, and since his wind magic was on his left side, which he couldn't use, the cyclone he made wasn't completely a full potential. Not that it mattered anyways, since every monster in the vicinity got shredded into pixie dust and got blown away.

With no time to waist, he rushed out of the shrine, used his [Ares' Chariot] to kick off the snowy ground, and began his run towards where the Flower shield of deception was.

Thankfully, as he had his old sword with him now, he easily sliced and blew away all the monsters waiting, and easily snatched the shield that was being kept inside a small enchanted glass chamber.

Now, as for the long route to the axe of enmity…yeah, it was tiring.

Having to run across the snow like a maniac while dodging and slaying monsters was going to wear on his mind sooner or later. He may be physically strong, but his mental state wasn't invincible.

Then again, his mind had already been so distorted, that something as simple as stress seemed like nothing but a short lack of oxygen to him.

Now, as for the shrine housing the axe of deception-

"It's empty? The hell?"

As he just said, the shrine was completely empty. Unlike the previous two shrines, this one was a void of monsters, silent and further silenced by the falling snow.

No-, not exactly. There IS someone, just not a monster. A human perhaps? But his senses and guts screamed no. It was slightly unnerving to be fighting something he had no clue about, he's not going to back down no, is he?

So, with his short sword ready and the shield strapped to his right arm, he stepped into the empty shrine.

And…there was a…robot ninja…?

 _Seriously, what the fuck is that?_

"H-Huh!? Who's there!?"

The one standing inside was a, slender blue robot-man, with a large shuriken hung at his back and two sharp katanas hung by his metal waist. His voice was shaky and meek, much in contrast to his ninja-like appearance.

Also, just to add more surprise, the ninja was somehow able to detect Ventus coming in, despite the effect of the shield coming in to hide him from sight.

As if the current moment, the ninja was trying to yank out the axe from the large rock he stuck it into with his slender hands, making oddly girly noises as he looked around with fright on his 'face?'.

But! While he did seem like a meek guy, the fact he sensed him without the use of eyesight was truly remarkable! So remarkable in fact, that he decided to walk up next to him and pat his shoulder as he deactivated the shield and placed the short sword back on his waist.

"Hyaha!?" Which, earned him a nice terrified shriek as the ninja-robot backed off, his hands trailing quickly to his two katanas and pulling them out. *Shring!* The swords sounded as he took his stance, despite the clear nervousness inside him.

"Have to say, I'm surprised you managed to detect me even with my shield on. Quite some senses you have there."

"W-Who are y-you!?"

Soft rattling sounds echoed in the empty shrine as the ninja shook in fear. Honestly, he looked a bit cute with all his shaking, like a puppy desperately trying to stop itself from running away.

"I'm Ventus, nice to meet you, sir ninja. By proxy, mind telling me your name? I don't bite, yet, so don't worry."

"I-I-I'm S-Steamax."

 _Cool name_ , he silently thought as he yanked the axe of enmity out of the stone, terrifying Steamax to know that the weapon he had tried to pull out for over an hour now was just pulled out with one hand in a matter of seconds. His already low self-esteem dropped even lower.

But, Ventus actually felt no intention of fighting him, seeing this Steamax as a simple ninja-robot who wanted to take out the axe without his permission. Not that he needed it, since he left it unguarded in the first place.

 _W-Woah, he's starting to steam_ …It's also a bit scary to see that Steamax was starting to let out steam from his…his…uh…back? Butt? He wasn't too sure, but from somewhere behind him, presumably from all the built up stress he was having.

Somehow he wondered if this person was male or female. Actually, he'll just settle on the robot gender.

"So, looking for this axe?"

"Y-Yeah. C-Can you give it to me?"

"No. I'm using it. I made it anyways." He said bluntly, his face blank as he slung the axe over, casually holding the axe over his shoulder. Despite that however, Steamax wasn't angry or annoyed, not even close!

"Y-You're the creator?! That's amazing!"

He was ecstatic! Not because he just found the creator, but-, exactly because he found the CREATOR of the axe! The maker of this relic, was standing there!

Back on Ventus now.

From the way he was phrasing his surprise, it almost felt like he was asking him to help him, probably by making another weapon. He cracked a smile, for some reason feeling that he should lend his help by the forges this time around.

He might be evil, or in some evil organisation, or being manipulated by someone evil, or a manifestation or evil, or whatever, but he didn't care. Besides, what was good or evil anyways? The line had blurred for him a long time ago.

All that's left was a sense of whether or not he felt good enough to do something, which in this case, yes.

"Say, wanna eat something? I'm hungry."

To his surprise, he somehow, somehow, got the ninja to agree, and went back to Lowee at 1 past midnight. The two had a nice bowl of ramen as they drank the night out.

From there, he also learnt that he had two major problems in his life. One, was his fear of women, and his total incapability of touching or speaking to a woman correctly, and two, his very low self-esteem, which forces extreme senses of paranoia and fear into him when facing against a tough enemy.

And for those asking, he got this all out after he made him drunk with several bottles of sake.

…And don't even start on how a ROBOT managed to get drunk on several bottles of fermented rice, because he's not answering that any time soon!

Still though, the guy was really depressing him, and while he did go out in search for the relics, he couldn't help but feel like he should help this fellow man out with his problems.

"S-So, about the, *hic*, thing you said…"

"…?"

"Do you, *hic*, mind making me, *hic*, another axe? My boss, *hic*, really needs it, *hic*."

Ah, right. But as he was a man, and he definitely didn't have a woman to help him out with his gynophobia, he'll just settle on helping out with his job.

From what he managed to gather from the tiny bits of intel the guy said as he was drunk, his 'boss' was also a robot like him, and was searching for a strong weapon to use, since his old ones keep on breaking every 3 days.

He hates, HATES losing money, so after some time, he finally got fed up and ordered Steamax to search for a weapon he could use without instantly breaking.

Then, on his travels, he met a young man.

Now this bit was interesting.

The man said that 'countless shrines are hidden within the land of the snow', as the wind blew by and his deep blue hair danced in the wind. His dark purple eyes shone under the moonlight, as he faded into the shadows.

Then, by chance, his first shrine was the one housing the Axe of Enmity, and there, the two men met under the light of the moon.

A touching story, just not a romantic one. _Thankfully._

"Ah, right. Come on, follow me-, wait, can you even walk?"

"*Hic*? Walk, *hic*! Of…course! *Hic*!"

 _Nope. The answer was no._

And so, like long-time partners from the same job company, he carried Steamax by the shoulders towards his forgery, which was thankfully inside Lowee, since he didn't really feel like running outside any longer.

They soon arrive at a small humble abode, looking ever so similar to the rest of the buildings in the district, located at the far west edge of Lowee. On the outside, it looked absolutely and utterly ordinary, but inside,

Was also normal.

A living room, a bed room, a bath room, a kitchen, and an empty room that wasn't filled with anything.

Although, he was quite surprised to find that there were hardly any dust when he entered through the door. Quite a mystery.

Resting the fairly drunk Steamax on the red sofa, he did a quick stretch before he went down to the basement, where all the real stuff was.

A flaming hot atmosphere, a dense scent of burning fire, the soft orange hue coming from the insides, this was, his very own forgery! On a serious note though, why was there no dust here? Seriously, he didn't cast any spell to keep this place clean, so-

*Creak…*

 _Oooh…shit._

He…must have been a bit too drunk to not realise this.

This was Lowee, a _country_ , and this property was never _officially_ his anyways, which meant that…this house probably belonged to someone else,

And that someone else was walking down the basement at this very moment.

"W-Who are you!? And what are you doing inside my house!?"

 _…Shit._

Turning around, he saw a young girl with long teal hair, blue eyes, and an…orange orb on her head? She's also wearing a white and orange dress to match with it too…Was it also strange that the orange orb was pulsing?

"Ah, well…"

Realising that he had no way out of this, he simply threw his hands up into the air and admitted his 'crimes'. She didn't seem as pissed as he thought however, simply asking the same question 4 times before backing down with a sigh.

Also, her orange orb crown stopped pulsing after that.

Which was strange, since he was literally an unknown person barging into someone else's house, and she's just fine with that!? That seemed highly unlikely.

Which then led him to ask whether or not that orange orb on her head had some sort of power to detect intentions or whatnot. It did pulsate with light when she first saw him, so it's possible.

Now, from this quick exchange, he learnt two things,

One was that she purchased this house for quite a hefty sum, not realising that there was an entire forgery hidden in the basement, hence why the price was higher than normal.

And two, is that she's been cleaning this place, since her 'sensory orb' as she calls it tells her that this place holds a special meaning to someone's heart, which in this case, was Ventus', as this was his old forgery.

Oh, and her name's Poona.

And while all this was happening, Steamax was happily sleeping on the couch, inaudible gurgles coming out of his 'mouth?'.


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13**

* * *

 **Holy hell. This one took out waaay more time than I ever expected. Sorry for that.**

 **The chapter just didn't feel...right, to me. And it still doesn't, but I've done all I can. I rewrote this like 5 or 6 times before I finally decided to stop on this attempt. Anyways, once again, sorry for the delay. Enjoy.**

* * *

Divine Constructs.

To explain it simply, a divine construct is something formed purely out of energy, usually share energy, which is shaped and formed depending on its creator, and will mould into the form best suited for its user.

All CPUs are capable of creating divine constructs-, well, more like they were born with one. On rare occasions, humans and other humanoid races might also have the talent to create a divine construct.

From a sword that cleaves the path to victory, to a megaphone that sounded to the ends of the world, and the four fallen stars that shined of hope, many divine constructs have been created since the dawn of Gamindustri.

But, just like any gimmick, divine constructs too have their own characteristics and weaknesses.

The main one stems from the fact that they, at the end of the day, are just clumps of pure energy given a form, so once the energy building them dies down, the construct goes with it.

Which simply means that getting knocked out will cause the construct to disappear.

While it may seem like a downside at first, it also meant that for those skilled enough, if by any chance their construct is taken away from their hands, they could make the construct disappear and remake them.

Enough exposition however.

Obviously, making a divine construct was hard, and it'd take some massive effort to even try and make one. So, instead of going through all the pain that path could lead into, Ventus took a different approach.

Psuedo-divine constructs.

Since(in his current state anyways) Ventus sould be unable to create a construct, despite his ability to control and channel Negative Energy, he spent a bit of time dabbling in the world of enchantment magic back in the day.

And from that, he learnt how to create them.

Unlike, say, collecting a huge amount of Share Energy to form a blade capable of cleaving through all existence, even those without a physical form, he instead first gave that characteristic to his energy, and then implanted it inside a suitable physical form.

Don't understand? Just keep listening.

In simple words, instead of making a form out of pure energy, he instead forges a physical body first, usually in his forgery, before implanting the newly forged item with the energy he's specified.

This granted the item great power, but also lost it its main gimmick. Since it wasn't just pure energy anymore, it'll stay in the world, even after Ventus passes on. This also meant that he couldn't do the trick of making the item appear in his hand.

Hence why so many of those relics were still around today.

Yes, that's right, all those random relics scattered around Lowee were all Pseudo-divine constructs he made back then, and for the fun of it, decided to leave behind in several different shrines for someone else to find.

And now, a new friend of his was asking him to make another one.

He would've objected the help, but…he hasn't done any forging in a while, and he's quite interested in where things will lead if he did make the weapon, so, ' _why the hell not?_ ' He thought as he rummaged around the room, looking for materials.

He was, after all, a selfish man. And a bored one too.

 _Oi. Don't go badmouthing me._

Poona was also helping him out, surprisingly. He did just sneak into her house and all, but she seems to know what's up thanks to the orange orb on her head.

Now now, as for what weapon he wanted to make…he first considered just making another replica of the axe, since that's what Steamax settled on giving his boss, but it didn't feel right for some reason.

If Steamax was a robot, then his master should also be a robot, and thinking about a ninja-robot using an axe was like seeing a hedgehog in red sneakers-

Anyways, he just found some nice hydra scales he stripped off from one unlucky high-level dragon monster he killed in his past adventures. It was powerful, radiated magical energy, had high endurance, and was malleable enough to be used as a material.

It radiated so much magical energy in fact, that upon sight, Poona's orange orb went crazy and began pulsating out, and still is even as he searched for a hammer to use. She seems fine with it however, and even admitted, albeit in a soft whisper, that the feeling was quite pleasant.

"Yosh…Man, it's hot here."

He randomly said so as he opened two buttons from his white shirt, sighing as he felt no better than before. Sweat trailed down his well-toned body as he brought all the needed materials and tools up to the anvil.

And then, the forging began.

First up, was to create the blade, which wasn't that hard. All he did was heated the 5 hydra scales in the fire, and then hammered them together into a large blade. He left the sharpening and polishing for later.

Next, he took out a small bar of obsidian, nailed it together with a durable bar of iron, and used that as the hilt and grip. Once again, he left the polishing stage for later.

By the time he finished the two parts, a hour and a half has passed, and he was taking a short break from the hot atmosphere of the forge, and went back to the cool living room to enjoy a nice cup serving of cold tea from Poona, who was completely unfazed by the heat.

Which did make him wonder if she was human at all, but he'll save that for next time.

Steamax was somehow still drunk sleeping.

Now, back down the stairs, he used his hammer, and a bit of special magic, to bind the two parts together into a sword, and a large one at that. Rocking in at 180 cm, even higher than he is, and definitely too heavy and big for his preference, but a powerful weapon it still is.

But, of course, this was just a normal big sword. The process wasn't over just yet!

Polishing the blade using the grinder, he smoothed the blade out with some oil and left it to dry for half an hour, giving the blade a much needed edge.

Now, while it was a sword, he didn't really have a specific idea on what pseudo-divine construct it would be, so he just copied the stats from the axe of enmity, and bestowed it upon the large blade.

A dark purple light shone from his hands, as sparks of energy left his palms and entered the blade, coursing through the sword. Colour began to manifest upon the sword, giving the blade a nice gloss of purple. With one last spark, the light exploded outwards, sending wind, and Poona, back against the wall, as a soft sigh left his dry lips.

He took a deep breath as he looked down upon his creation, the blade…of enmity, probably. Well, it has the same affect of absorbing Negative Energy, so that name fits.

Since the sun's about to rise any second now, he bid farewell to Poona and left the blade of enmity next to the sleeping Steamax, just so he remembered to take it back to his boss.

And with that, a small side-plot diverging from the main has been completed. And now, we return back to the story of trying to prevent Arfoire's revival.

When he got back, he was greeted by a fairly relaxed Kei, sipping some tea she made along with a plate of half-eaten flan she most likely took out of the fridge. She was working on her laptop, using her many, many cameras to make sure the distressed Uni back at home wouldn't go and rampage around to save her sister, which luckily, she hadn't done just yet.

Almost like an echo to that other time he returned back to the Basilicom early in the morning, Kei asked,

"Hmm? What…are those?"

"Relics, stuff I gathered to help out fight against them. Since your fighting prowess were terrible, I decided to seek the aid of these weapons. Of course, the sword's for you."

He didn't sugar-coat those words one bit, which did make her quite self-conscious about just how bad she was at actually handling a sword, but he didn't seem to be annoyed by it one bit, which was nice of him.

As promised, he pulled the blade of untamed winds off his waist and handed it over to Kei, who looked and inspected and held the sword, her eyes sparkling in awe from the amazing quality of the sword. She would've asked who made them, but for one, she learnt that he was a master blacksmith several days ago, so it's entirely possible.

There were also that axe on his back, which she was guessing was for Blanc? It did make sense, since her original divine construct was an axe, but…how should she put it, something…doesn't feel right?

What she was most likely feeling was the Negative Energy slowly building up inside the axe. As, while Kei didn't have some special sense to feel Share and Negative Energy like Linda did, her intuition was sharp, so the feeling of unease in her heart was justified.

And lastly, that shield on his right arm. It's…well made? She was never a fan of shields in general, so she didn't have a comment on that one.

Seeing that Kei was quite happy with her sword, he smiled and yawned, feeling all the fatigue suddenly drop onto his shoulders. With some effort, he willed himself to lie down on a nearby sofa, and closed his eyes-

Not before he set out the warning of course.

"Ah, right. Kei!"

"Y-Yes?"

"We're going to attack at 5 in the afternoon. Wake me up an hour before that, 'kay? 'Night."

"Hey, what do you-…asleep already, huh." When she got there, Ventus was already sleeping, peacefully resting as the sun slowly rose, blasting away the darkness of the night, and shining past the falling snowflakes, peering into the Basilicom through the many windows it had.

Silently, she kneeled down to him and gently patted his head, a soft smile and a blush blooming across her face.

 _Thank you._

* * *

 _"…I…am so dead, aren't I?"_

 _"…You sure are."_

 _Standing before the enormous crater before them, Ventus and Arfoire could only sigh as they looked upon the devastation before them. A mountain of dust and smoke rose from the recent location of impact._

 _He sighed and looked to the woman next to him, her hands crossed and visible traces of sweat trailing down her face. It seems she too was quite worried about this recent predicament._

 _He sighed once more and placed his hand on the white-haired woman's shoulder next to him, giving her a thumbs up just to hammer in the point that the two fighters were absolutely fucked._

 _They were up for a **long** time of lecture, it seems._

 _That worry only lasted for a moment however, as the two burst into a heartfelt laughter, a pure sign of enjoyment they felt as they soared through the skies and earth, clashing their blades with all their strength put behind each swing._

 _She may be a beautiful woman, but holy hell can she pack a punch as well, especially knowing that she fights with nothing more than a scythe. Then again, he only fought with short swords, so that statement was irrelevant._

 ** _"Run. She's coming."_**

 _His laughter stopped, and hers swiftly followed. Looking at each other with determined eyes, they activated their separate flying mechanism/magic, and soared into the sky, going their separate ways to run from an incoming cataclysm._

 _Oh how simple it was back then._

* * *

Meanwhile,

The sun was now setting, cloaking the fantastical, and ultimately stupid world of Gamindustri in a soft orange light, as the sun slowly dipped below the unseen horizon. Clouds scattered across the sky as nightfall began to emerge.

The neighs of horsebirds rang in the air as they took off to the skies, making their way back to their home. Many dogoos hummed and hopped happily along as they danced with the wind, feeling the air brush against their slimy bodies.

A beautiful sunset seen from Planeptune, a cloudy polluted scenery from Lastation, a forever snowing but enchanting sight from Lowee, and a captivating sight of the sun dipping below the ocean waters.

The four nations of Gamindustri revelled in the bask of the setting sun.

But it seems one place didn't get the memo about the show.

Sitting at the centre of it all, was the Gamindustri graveyard, a desolated place, filled with useless junk that people had thrown away, corpses of destroyed monsters, and even broken parts of weapons, scattered around with no purpose in sight.

Dark brown clouds sat above the place, giving an eerie vibe as an enormous amount of Negative Energy leaked out into the world on a daily basis. Not even the bravest of adventurers dared to enter such a place.

Yeah, as if Ventus cared.

After gearing up, the four finally made their way to the Gamindustri graveyard, where the other CPUs were most likely kept. Emphasis on 'most likely'.

That was due to the immense density of the Negative Energy being released constantly, giving Linda and even Ventus one hell of a time trying to figure out if they could sense the other goddesses inside as well. After a while however, they just gave up and decided to go.

Well, while Ventus sure didn't care, the other three sure as hell cared!

Linda and Blanc, one being an elf capable of sensing energy and the other being an embodiment of Share Energy, was having quite a hard time breathing in an atmosphere like this. Kei was, well, she's just a human, but constantly being around Lastation's CPU and her pals seems to have built some sort of 6th sense towards Share and Negative Energy, and her face did look a little pale.

Although…saying that Ventus didn't really feel anything would be a lie. It just wasn't from the graveyard itself, but from another, MUCH bigger existence, walking around the place. He could vividly feel its feet, tremors coursing under him as it stepped upon the tainted ground.

 _Just what hellish monster lived here?_

He asked that, not out of fear, but out of pure curiosity. He's seen crazier monsters over the years, and this one was just another one in the collection, but in this day and age? The one walking around must at least be several centuries old.

 _"Interesting. A fallen god perhaps?"_

He nodded unconsciously, agreeing to the voice in his head. If the guy they're fighting was indeed a fallen god…then he might need to bust himself out to win this.

He could already feel a headache setting in. Another fight, this time in an even worse location compared to the church, surrounded by Negative Energy 24/7. Sure, all's gonna turn out all dandy and wanzy.

Fuck no.

How long would he be incapacitated? A day? A week? A month? _Forever_? He's lost his left arm already, what more should he sacrifice? His right arm? A leg? His eye?

Nah, he doubt he'd lose that much in this fight. He'd just reassemble something later on to fix it.

The problem was with his three comrades, which were already suffering from the effects of this damned place. Would he be able to fight this monstrous being, while protecting them in this poisonous place, AND also feeling weakened by the place himself? It's a long uphill battle, but no chickening out.

"Kei, Blanc, go scout the area and look if there're any signs of the other CPUs, and-, oh, bring Linda too. Her illusions should help you sneak in to save them. And don't get caught!"

An encouraging smile on his face, he bid farewell to the three girls and rushed off towards this 'fallen god'. Running across the barren dirt, the dark murky earth below him screaming back, he ran across the Gamindustri Graveyard, seeing the many hellish scenery that passed him by.

Charred remains of many humans, monsters, remnants of many machines and tools, degrading parts, unused engines, burnt pictures, and other stuff hidden under the mountain of useless and thrown away junk.

Then, his eyes glazed over something, and he ceased his movements. He turned his head over to his right, and there he saw-

"Hello there."

A boy, maybe 16 or 17? In casual wear, standing in a pair of white sneakers, and his hands in his pockets. His blueish purple hair waved in the slow wind, his dark purple eyes staring. His lips curved, a maniacal smile, one that looked like the crescent moon.

 _"Run…"_

He then heard the voice in his head, calling out, fear clear inside. Why was she so scared of him? He's just…just…

 _Huh? Why can't I…?_

A bead of sweat trailed down his neck, his leg unconsciously taking a step back. The boy remained unmoving, his purple eyes still staring into his, their gazes matched.

His mind was hazy, as if a hole had just gone and blown itself in his head. He looked upon the boy, feeling familiar, but saw no signs of recollection in his mind. Another bead of sweat formed, a gulp sounding from his throat. Slowly, his hand reached to his waist to take his sword before-

Before…before…

…

…

…

"What was I…doing…here again?"

Waking from his stupor, he wiped off the sweat on his brows, looking suspiciously at the place he's been staring at for some time now, confused as to why he was looking there so seriously in the first place.

*Vuuummmm*

 _Was…that why?_

He cocked his head to the left, seeing the large black metal tank standing there. White smoke rose from under it, and a visible blue light emanating from the inside.

Slowly, the tank began to open.


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14**

* * *

To be or not to be? That is the question.

If that question was then whether he should be fighting or not fighting this monster, he'd definitely spend all his credits and bet his life on the latter.

*UAuhauAhuahAuHahuUhahAhH*

An inaudible screech escaped the large metal tank, as blue light seeped out of the opening gates. That process however, was quickly finished when a giant black hand broke free from inside, and tore the entire tank apart.

"…" It was his few rare times when he didn't make a joke or a sarcastic remark about the monster he was fighting. He was simply staring at it, legs trembling, sword brandished, and conviction steeled.

A hulking monster, even bigger than Brave, emerged out of the tank. It was covered in black armour, with green outlines running across its body. Its head had two empty sockets, probably where his eyes were, but they were now empty and lifeless.

A pair of 2 black jet-like wings floated behind its back, along with 2 other floating cannon-like objects floating besides him. In his hand was a terrifically large spear, one that shined a blinding light, one that broke through the miasma of Negative Energy.

If he ignored the black armour it was in and the 3 weapons it had on its side, he'd _almost_ be tempted to say the he believed that he was a god reborn.

"A fallen god indeed." He spoke softly, almost like a reply to a person no one could see. Looking upon this monster of an enemy, the thought of a _tactical retreat_ crossed his mind, but he quickly tossed the idea.

"Tch…"

He felt even worse now, ashamed he even managed to conjure such a thought. He's here to bring back the CPUs and bring back the real Arfoire for good. Not being as strong as he previously was was an excuse used by the weak.

To which, he admitted, was somewhat correct.

Swallowing his fears, he gulped and looked on ahead, glad and somewhat annoyed that the monster hadn't even noticed her presence here, and was just aimlessly floating around.

 _Should I use **that** …? No, not yet, especially not with my unstable energy._

Right now, all he had to rely on was his simple spells, and probably some added bonuses from the cable ability he 'stole' from CFW Trick…Damnit, just a single thought of that guy was almost enough to make him vomit.

 _[Helheim] will definitely not work on him, so no instant killing moves. [Brahmastra]…? Nah, even worse._

Sweat poured from his skin as he held his sword up, scared but hopeful of the outcome. He quickly threw his sword into the air and took his stance, his right arm clenched and ready.

"[Hades'…"

Rather uncharacteristically, he spoke the name out loud, despite how fucking chuunibyou it sounded to him. Perhaps hearing everyone shout their skill names before launching the attack was starting to rub off on him.

"-WRATH]!"

A strong burst of flame shot out of his right arm, and towards the monster. Its entire body was covered in his flame, before an explosion took it,

And it came out hardly damaged, if at all.

"…Fuck."

The being turned its head towards him, and for the first time, its empty eye sockets burst forth a red light. Immediately, he felt its eye bore into him, peering into his soul. An odd mixture of feelings surfaced, but he had no time to contemplate as he leapt back from his previous spot, narrowly avoiding the incoming spear strike.

He danced around, his feet stepping from one side to another, his body bending and moving accordingly as he danced with death itself. The monster attacked more and more frequently as he dodged its attack, and the two cannons by its side soon went active and began shooting out as well.

He was too far to attack it with a devastating [Ares' Chariot], but also too slow to use his [Hades' Wrath] without getting himself drilled with many holes.

 _Shit._ He cursed to himself as he felt a graze form on his waist, reacting slightly as he jumped back and parried two incoming spear strikes, and avoiding a speeding cannonball flying her way.

 _"Cables."_

Then, he had a realisation and stopped, only to realise that he had just stopped in the MIDDLE of a fight and moved to evade.

But its spear came faster and stabbed him right through the chest…or it would have, if not for a sudden barrier of wind that he created with his left hand between him and the spear. But even that did not last however, as the wind barrier broke apart, and his left hand took most of the brunt damage. He winced as he felt his muscle fibres tearing apart, but those few seconds were enough for him to make an escape from the attack.

Landing back, he let out the breath he didn't know he was keeping and winced again, noticing that the injury this time was _much_ worse than normal. Blood trickled down.

Taking the suggestion the voice gave him, he summoned several lines of cables and strung them around it, its spear, the 2 cannons, everything, almost like spinning a thread around an object into a cocoon.

But it was his chance.

He leapt forward with his [Ares' Chariot] giving him a boost, before he sent a strong kick to its head. *Bam!* It went as he heard several cracks from it, as it was blown back. He hovered in the air for a moment, before a sudden incoming cannonball shot him back.

He cried out in pain as the attack sunk into his stomach, feeling his insides churn from the immense force it had. Slowly, he pushed himself up from the ground, feeling more and more blood trickle down from his arm.

He was beat, absolutely beat. His body felt like a block of bricks, and even moving a single finger felt tiring. But he pushed himself up, panting and heaving for breath as he felt a bit of internal bleeding.

But, at the least he got a hit in, right?...Right?

He despaired for the first time when the dust faded away, and while yes, there were several cracks running along its head, it was still fine, and all 3 of its weapons were armed and pointed at him.

Then, it charged in, spear aimed at his chest.

 _"Eject!"_

"*Cough* T-That…I will do." He grinned slightly as he felt his legs succumb to his weakening body, and before long,

The spear reached its target, and Ventus' heart was no more.

* * *

At around the same time Ventus made first contact with the being, Kei, Linda, and Blanc were making their way around the dangerous toxic graveyard, with Linda and Blanc's senses as their only guides through this hellscape.

The suffocating amount of Negative Energy was…concerning, to say the least. Blanc was definitely taking it worse, her face paler than ever and sweat pouring out. Her head was spinning like crazy, and if it wasn't for her new axe absorbing the excess energy, she might've fallen prey to this hellish place.

Being a CPU has its downsides after all.

They had no time to worry however, as monsters kept coming out to battle them. They were easy to deal with, _too_ easy, but even a goddess would start getting tired fighting these weak, seemingly robotic monsters that spawned in every 30 seconds.

Their new equipment helped out quite a bit for that, giving them an edge they could use to come out victorious. Even if they weren't completely used to it, the power they held were amazing. Not a surprise, since Ventus _did_ make them himself.

"That's-"

But it's not the time. As they turned another familiar corner in this graveyard, Kei was first to react as she saw the three other CPUs, tied and pinned against the wall, black cables injected into them, feeding deadly Negative Energy.

They were even still in their HDD forms, even despite not even having enough Share Energy to sustain them. Blanc gnashed her teeth, her hand clenched tight, a small dent beginning to appear on the axe's handle.

Her friends…the people she spent her life being with, playing around with, joking and eating together with, stuck against the wall, their bodies being tainted by darkness even as she stood there, her pupils shrinking.

 **RUN**

Blanc ran as quickly as she could, the other two quickly following behind her, just as worried as they checked upon them.

 **RUN**

Blanc ran her hand across Neptune's face. Her best friend, her ally against the army of melons, tied here…It was quite a blessing she hadn't gone into a rampage and smashed everything into little tiny blue chunks.

 **RUN**

She tried using her axe to cut the wires, but it hardly moved. Kei, and Linda to some reluctant extent, tried to help with her endeavour, but it almost felt like they were trying to slice open a brick of concrete with a table knife.

 **RUN**

Soon, Blanc was smashing her axe against the cable, putting all of her weight into each of her swings. They wobbled slightly, but the cables remained unharmed. But then, as she was about to swing her axe down, she stopped.

 **RUN**

Where were all the monster? That question ran through her mind, a bead of sweat trailing down her back. This was too easy. Once they reached this location, she hadn't even felt a single monster get near them, and they were previously swarming them like zubats!

 **RUN**

A chill ran down her spine.

 **RUN**

Pain seethed into her mind.

 **RUN**

Strength was leaving her arms.

 **RUN**

Her skin paled even more.

 **RUN**

DeaTh Was nEAr.

 **RUNRUNRUNRUNRUNRUNRUNRUNRUNRUNRUNRUNRUNRUNRUNRUNRUN**

The three girls stopped every single thought running through their heads, and slowly, _slowly_ , turned their heads around.

To see the lifeless body of Ventus hanging off the edge of a bloody spear.

"VENTUS!"

Kei cried out, her expression warped in terror as she saw the powerful adventurer hang on the sharp edge, **dead**. His mouth hung open, blood drooling out, and his entire body was a mess.

The sound of a clank was heard as Linda fell back, her metal back rolling around in front of her as she slowly backed away, her sensory organs bombarded with the absolute sense of foreboding death, the coldness of death hanging before her neck.

"You've done well, reaching this far."

"…!"

The three turned around once again, and floating above them was CFW Magic. Her lips split into a malicious grin, and her one eye gleamed menacingly. Her scythe floated around her, spinning and rotating happily around its master.

"M-Magic-s-sama…"

Linda choked out, tears flowing out from her eyes as she saw her master stare at her, filled with anger and disdain towards the follower that had happily rejected her. Her hand moved to take hold of her scythe,

But…she stopped. Death was too kind. This girl needed a rework, to change everything about her. Her grin only grew further, as the helpless girl felt the cables extend out and take hold of her, dragging her across the floor and around the corner, her screams slowly quieting down.

Until her voice was no more.

Blanc was soon to follow, another set of black cables shooting out and taking hold of her limbs, dragging her towards an empty spot besides the CPU of Leanbox. Not without effort, as Blanc toiled and struggled against its pull, but her already weakened state and lack of HDD didn't help her as a dose of Negative Energy knocked her unconscious, the cables tying her up against the wall as her mouth failed to speak.

"Oh…God…"

Kei managed to say, terror in her eyes as she took a step back, and two, before turning around to run away from her, dropping the weapon Ventus had graciously gathered for her, letting it tumble down against the dirt.

But even she could not escape, as the cables latched itself into her back and pulled her back, ignoring her pleas and cries as it dragged her away, away from prying eyes.

A complete loss, Ventus would say, but as even he had been killed, no one could speak a word as Magic simply smiled to herself, unable to contain her excitement as she increased the ferocity of her cables, pouring more and more Negative Energy into the suffering CPUs.

Victory was hers, her maniacle laugh echoing through the graveyard.

* * *

It was snowing, just like always. Lowee was always like this, and _had_ always been. From the moment this place was founded, piles after piles of snow would just appear out of nowhere, littering the streets and forcing those with enough motivation to clean it up.

Today was not that day.

Yes, it was still cold as shit, and they'd still need to wear several layers of clothing over their initial ones to keep themselves from hypothermia (which Ventus and his group clearly had no problems with), but snow _wasn't_ falling down.

Everyone merely looked at this anomaly with raised eyebrows before they resumed their activities, continuing their lives as they enjoyed their oddly clear sky for the first time.

Of course, the priest new better.

"Takeyama, how long are you going to stand there? It's been _15 minutes_ , come in already!"

Takeyama, the priest that Ventus had met on his short visit to the church, replied back with as much enthusiasm he could muster. The woman, a caretaker, sighed as she turned around and returned inside, probably readying herself as she was bombarded by the kids.

It wasn't that he hated dealing with kids, he just, didn't have much enthusiasm on anything at all. Releasing a sigh of his own, he shrugged his shoulders as he looked up to the clear sky, a small smile on his face.

Maybe if there was one thing he enjoyed, it was the supernatural. And, yes, Gamindustri was already crazy enough, but that just meant his standards for craziness was even higher than normal. Which would make him a great pair for the insane cheery CPU of Planeptune.

Ah…the shrill of excitement, the chaos of adventure, simple thoughts like that truly made his heart-

*Throb*

"Kh…?"

Throb, yes, throb. He was about to continue his delusions of excitement just a bit more, but something was…calling him? He wasn't sure how to put it, but he could feel a nagging feeling to leave the nation, and run west as fast as he could.

That sounded dumb enough, seeing as he was just a normal priest with _maybe_ some special skills on preaching and healing, but…he felt like the path would be safe for him, as if a _god_ had given him a calli-

"Ah, I see…"

He couldn't help the wide, almost psychotic grin sneaking up his face. Yes, of course! It would be him! Ha! To think he had easily forgotten the feeling when he had come to talk to him just a day ago!

He couldn't help but laugh to himself, gaining him some odd looks from the nearby people, but he didn't care. Tucking his cross under his coat, he turned west and ran as fast as his legs could take him.

Ignoring the guard's weird looks as he eyed the running priest, Takeyama continued his run, ecstatic to heed the calling in his heart. His smile deepened, seeing a spaced trail of clouds leading his way from above.

He felt _amazing_ , following and accepting the voices in his heart. It was almost addictive, threatening to drown him in this euphoria.

A call to adventure, some might say.

And as childish as that sounded, it felt so true it actually **hurt**.

It hurt mostly because he failed to notice a slight bump on the path he was travelling, and tripped, diving head-first into the snow under him.

Slowly, he pulled himself out from the snow, silently promising for god's sake that he'd watch his step as he ran. That, and he couldn't stop the wide grin blooming on his face.

Before him was a conspicuous door, standing where there was none before. It was pure white, a soft red hue radiating from the inside. Slowly, ever so slowly, he pulled himself up and reached out for the door.

And as his fingertips grazed the edge, the door opened, and the red light devoured him whole, leaving behind nothing but snow.

But that wasn't the end for Takeyama. No-, far from that. It was the beginning of his _fun_.

As his eye readjusted to the sudden change in light, no longer was the white scenery of snow that stretched far beyond what his human eyes could possibly see. Instead replaced with an enchanting, almost mystifying room, pointed completely in purple. A low hum played out from somewhere,

And at the centre, was a large crystal, the body of a naked young woman trapped inside.

 _How…lovely…_

The calling in his heart grew even louder, telling him to reach his hand out and touch the crystal. To _free_ her. That thought sent shivers down his spine, and he revelled in the amazing feeling of excitement that brought him.

Forgetting about his life as a priest, even if for just a moment, he brought his hand up and lightly placed it upon the crystal. It felt warm to touch, almost as if-

He didn't have time to finish that thought, as the crystal cracked upon his light touch, and the woman simply floated there, as if the meek forces of gravity had no qualms on her. She hung in the air for what felt like an eternity,

Before her eyes flashed open.

"Ah~, that felt nice." The woman softly remarked, her orange eyes taking in the room she was in, her red shoulder-length hair flowing as she slowly descended onto the floor, her petite feet gently landing against the cold purple floor.

"And-…Hmm? You're…"

"Yes…My lord!"

The woman smiled-, well, grinned in return, her expression a perfect mirror of what Ventuswould usually have.

Of course, she was _him_ , after all.

Yep, heard that right.

"Ho? Damn, you knew it was me from just my _looks_? Holy hell." He-, she emphasized a bit on her 'looks', since, she was admittedly quite proud of how this body turned out to be.

After all, if she had to choose to migrate his soul into that of a female, a child, and a twin-headed hyena, it'd be a universal constant for her to always pick the first choice. Even if the extra asset did hinder her movements slightly.

And 'sides, he-, she was about to get slaughtered by that monstrous beast back in the graveyard, so it wasn't like she had much time to debate which one she wanted to jump into.

A~nyways, explaining a bit,

If Takeyama hadn't made this clear enough, Ventus wasn't exactly human, per se. That wasn't saying much, since even the humans of Gamindustri displayed some unhuman-like powers without much effort.

He-, she (Damn, that's confusing) was a…not exactly a CPU, but not a human either. Saying that she was a god would be the most appropriate choice.

What god she was, it wasn't quite clear, even to herself, but she at least knew that she had an obsessive love of creating things, blacksmithing, cooking, knitting, anything that involved him using his brain to make something really.

And at one time in history, she decided, 'Hey, why not make more bodies for myself?' Seeing as death was pretty common, she made several copies of her body, even made some different alterations along the way. Which, if you hadn't pieced by now, was why there was a female version.

Explanation done!

Although…it was quite unnerving to have a fully-grown man, a priest no less, kneeling before her and clasping his hands together in prayer, small traces of tears forming in his eyes as he looked upon his literal goddess.

It was…embarrassing.

She wasn't too sure if changing bodies also altered a bit of her personality (since it's quite clear that her usual quirky side's not going anywhere), but that didn't detract too much from her anyways.

It also didn't help that her left arm was still as useless as ever. It's healed, sure, but even a small application of her wind barrier thing would leave it all bloody again. Which sucked. She didn't realise she had a small pout on her face when she stared at her left arm.

Now, enough dillydallying, it's time to go and rescue her comrades!

And before that,

 _I need some clothes…_

* * *

 **Now, just to stop any worrisome thoughts some might have in their heads, no, this is not going to be permanent. As Ventus said him/herself, she could jump bodies, but just chose his female body over the other choices.**

 **But enough of that. First! I should've done this a while a go, but I kept on forgetting. So, I am a fan of the Neptunia series, just that my memory can get pretty shitty and checking every single forum and wiki (The wiki still has many holes too) would just get tiring for me. Therefore, if there are any mistakes/changes to the plot and story, just think of it as my own twist.**

 **Anyways, enough from me. See you soon!**


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15**

* * *

Gods.

Ethereal beings that existed at the dawn od Gamindustri, even before all the crazy shenanigans began to take place. Which would also mean that the creator of this crazy world was just as, if not even more crazy.

Says a lot, doesn't it?

And Virginia (She picked that name as a temporary alias) couldn't agree more. This world was stupid, the people who made this place was even stupider, and she loved it. Wouldn't be as much fun without all the shit going down, yeah?

Enough of that however. Back to the task at hand.

While she was waiting for Takeyama to get her a set of clothes, she was running some simulation tests in her mind, just to see if there were any good ways she could try and save them from that graveyard.

Not that she cared for them or anything.

Not being a tsundere, but, well-, maybe she did care _a little_. Linda was the daughter of his ma-, of his friend, Arfoire. Blanc was the current CPU of Lowee. And Kei was…well, Kei was just an interesting individual she liked hanging out with.

Three important people, all captured by the enemy.

 _Nice._

She sighed and plopped herself down on the floor, leaning her back against the purple wall. This was definitely _not_ her day. Not only did she get her ass beat by that monster, her comrades were all defeated as well. To make matters worse, all the four CPUs were now in their hands, and their revival of Arfoire was imminent.

She gently messaged her temples. They were too unprepared-, no, more like SHE was unprepared herself. She didn't bother training them more, looking for more artefacts, crafting more weapons and armour for them to use.

And she was disgusted to know that she felt a tinge of _excitement_ brewing in her heart.

" _We're not human. We **can't** die."_

 _Just because we're human doesn't mean I should be having fun right now!_ She shouted, then brought her hands up to cover her mouth a second later. There may not have been any voice, but she just shouted. _What?_

Was switching to a female body causing this? That was most likely, but-

 _Soul follows the mind, and the mind follows the body. Of course._

Sighing, she dropped her arms down to her knees, feeling the delicate touch of her feminine hands on her skin. No feelings of shame, no sense of arousal.

It was even more incredible to know that this was the first time she 'ejected' herself into a female body. Usually she would've just gone to her male one, but the workshop seems to have run out of materials.

It did make her wonder however, what if…No, _stop it_. She mentally scolded herself for even thinking that. She was a front-line fighter, not a puppeteer.

Now, now. Back to the task at hand. Obviously, she's not going up against that monster again. She's just going to get her ass handed to CFW Magic on a silver platter. Probably get turned into some kind of mindless doll or something.

So, either a stealth mission into the graveyard, which sounded _stupid_ , or some kind of open assault that would leave that monster out of the fight or lead it away beforehand.

 _"HDD."_

"Huh?"

Did…she hear that right? HDD? She wasn't even a CPU, how would she do that?

Then, her mind kicked into gear and she recalled something. The term 'HDD', in a loose sense, was simply to use Share Energy to grow stronger.

And, while she didn't have the crazy transformations that all the CPUs had, she did have _one_ of her own, just not as spectacular or dramatic.

It's…there. She could feel her share energy swirling around inside her, but…how to put it, she felt like there was some kind of wall preventing her from even tapping into that pool of energy. He had complete control over her Negative Energy, then why not with this one?

She would've pondered this more, but for one, she's both physically and mentally drained, and two, Takeyama just returned with a set of clothes. A match of black and white robe, made her look exactly like a nun.

It'd be a great way to hide her identity though. She could just lie and say that she's an acquaintance of Takeyama, since he's a priest and all. It was perfect.

If anything, it's slightly tight on her chest. Not saying her chest was big or anything, not that she hoped at least, but the size was definitely…smaller than desired.

Well, one can't have everything they want, eh?

* * *

 _"Ano…Ventus…What is this?"_

 _A soft buzzing of a machine ran through the room, a constant low hum. It was slightly annoying, if Arfoire had to admit. She had just woken up and her hair's all messy, and Ventus had suddenly barged into her room with the biggest grin she'd ever seen on him._

 _It wasn't even 4 yet…_

 _She winced as she felt a cold breeze brush against her nightgown (which she was still wearing), even a little painful._

 _"Just wait a sec…and…done!" With pride, a younger, perhaps more whimsical Ventus raised his new creation into the air, his eyes sparkling with childish wonder._

 _He eyed his new creation with a smile, seeing the shine glimmer from the edge of the blade he had spent many days and nights crafting. The magic coursed through its edges, blue sparks cackling around the sword._

 _"…Is this what you spent all your time on? This?"_

 _"S-Shut up! This took forever you know!?" The young Ventus pouted and huffed at the woman, who simply smiled. It was a great weapon, yes, but was it really worth it spending 4 weeks stuck inside this room just to make that?_

 _Well, no matter. As long as the boy was happy, she would be too._

 _"…So, what will you name it? Surely nothing stupid, would it?"_

 _The boy stopped and closed his eyes for a moment, humming softly as he slowly pieced together a name. His first choice was 'Ken: Kaze no Hakai', but he quickly squashed that idea. He could just imagine his sister laughing her ass off from that._

 _He frowned, but soon smiled as he thought of another. It was a simple name, nothing fancy or cool sounding, but it'll do._

 _"It's-"_

* * *

Pain.

Why was she in pain?

What did she do to deserve this?

She…She was just…

What was she…?

"Ngh…"

She shook in her stupor, her messy grey hair drooping over her eyes. Her entire body was heavy, painful.

 **PAIN**

She shook once more, feeling something tangled around her body, drilling themselves into her, filling her mind with nothing but PAIN. PAIN.

Dark thoughts slowly bubbled up, feelings of hate and regret surfacing, her lips turned to a frown. Why did she feel so betrayed? She shook once more, her mind recoiling in PAIN as a thick haze clouded her thoughts.

"Kuh…"

PAIN. She shook once more, her body still remaining still. She was getting nowhere-, where was this anyways? She winced, unable to recall anything as her mind flared with PAIN.

 **PAIN**

Why was that word so prominent? Why was her mind getting filled with this?

How was she not _insane_ yet?

 _Kei._

Kei? Who is that? Somehow…somehow it…felt familiar.

The haze slightly thinned, and she remembered. Kei…Yes, that was her name, wasn't it? She tried to recall further, but she winced, a surge of PAIN kicking her back down.

 _Stand up._

Why? Why should she stand up? She questioned herself, finding it odd that she didn't feel anything. But the voice compelled her-, no, it commanded her, and she obliged.

 **PAIN**

"Kuh…!" She softly hissed, resisting the pain coursing through her system. She continued to struggle, aimlessly tugging at whatever was holding her down. It seems to be…a black cable?

 **PAIN**

She dropped down, her every fibre wishing for relief. PAIN coursed through her, her body convulsing erratically. The haze thinned slightly, and she felt the pain die down, leaving her gasping for breath.

 _Stand up._

The voice called out once more, now recognisably male. It sounded monotone, no emotions laced within. A simple command, nothing more, nothing less.

*Snap!*

At the moment she moved her right arm, she felt the binding snap as it fell to the ground, leaving her left arm free. A small moment of victory flashed in her mind as she smiled, flinching as she felt pain.

But it was lighter than before. Or was she getting resistant to it?

Her whole body felt lighter, and she felt the haze in her mind thin out once more. Her head was getting clearer, and light was slowly returning to her blue eyes. A small spark of determination flashed in her eyes.

*Snap!*

With her right arm now free, she tugged on the cables on her other arm and pulled them apart, biting her lip as she withstood the pain, feeling the wind blow against the wound the cables had drilled into her.

*Snap, snap, snap!*

She continued to free herself, barely keeping herself from screaming. Her dishevelled clothes falling apart as she pulled herself up. Slowly, slowly, she rose, her stance unsteady as her legs shook in place.

She was…standing, somehow. She chuckled lightly, just soft enough to be heard by only her. She didn't want any unneeded attention, did she?

Kei brushed her hair to the side, letting out a breath as she felt the pain subside. Looking down at her own injured body, it was a miracle that she was even standing. Countless small holes were left behind on her skin, a mark of what those cables had done to her.

Her mind was, not completely back, but the fog's lifted enough for her to remember the big details. Seeing Blanc and Linda get captured, feeling herself get dragged away, and seeing Ventus-

Colour left her face as she recalled the sight, the sight of his body dangling off that spear like some kind of hunted animal. The blood spilling from him was _mortifying_.

Would she have ended up like _that_ if they didn't split up?

Somehow, just, somehow, she could guess that Ventus had planned it out this way, and went off away from them just so this'd happen. He is quite the thinker after all.

 _Stop overthinking. Move._

The voice spoke again, a hint of annoyance dripped within. The voice almost sounded like…a kid? Why would a kid be speaking to her?

 _Move._

She could _almost_ feel a hand pushing her on the back. It freaked her out a bit-, well, a lot seeing as she ended up falling over flat on her face.

 _…_

Oh if only she could see whoever this voice belonged to…she's send him/her flying.

* * *

Ventus hated coffee. Not just hated, she hated it with _passion_.

She'd rather go to Planeptune and dig a mountain-sized hole with her bare hands than let her sensitive taste buds touch that monstrous existence. Just the thought of that bitter item flowing into her mouth…how it wanted to make her vomit.

And right now, she couldn't help but shiver in fear and disgust. All around her, caffeine. Cups after cups of caffeine were being consumed by the other residents of the church as they had their breakfast.

It took all her willpower to not send everything flying with an [Ares' Chariot].

Takeyama had brought her back to the church and gave them the story about her being his old friend and all. This, however, ended up getting her dragged into their morning spiel, and the much dreaded joined breakfast straight after.

"Virginia-san, are you not going to eat?" One of the nuns asked her kindly, seeing as Ventus had not made a single move on her food.

"A-Ah? N-No, I'm fine. I-I'm just, tired."

It wasn't like she _didn't_ want to eat the food, just…with the smell of the deadly caffeine in the air, her appetite had just taken a deep dive into an ocean trench, and its not surfacing any time soon.

"Maria-san, Virginia-san had just arrived, and she had not gotten much sleep. It is expected for her to have exhausted herself, no?"

 _Thanks, Takeyama!_

"I-I see! I'm sorry, you must be so tired! Please, follow me! There's a vacant room you can use!"

The reaction was…interesting, seeing how she dragged the supposedly _exhausted_ Ventus out of her chair and into the living quarters. She took it in stride however, since at least her nose was being spared from those deadly toxins.

After they climbed down to the second floor (does all churches have basements!?), Maria led her to one of the rooms and quickly told her to go sleep. Ventus saw no reason to argue, so she faked a yawn and said bid her farewell.

 _Huh. At least this basement isn't filled with rotting corpses._

She grimly joked, frowning as she recalled the feelings that poured into her, the hatred and malice and regret that forced themselves upon her as she took their Negative Energy. She wasn't completely recovered from that either.

She sighed, dropping herself on the (surprisingly) soft bed. Maybe she was tired after all, especially after all that went down.

"Hah…"

She sunk her head into the pillow and sighed. As tired as she was, this was no time to be slouching around. Four CPUs were now assembled and Arfoire's revival was inevitable.

The goddess of death, the bloody moon, the wicked…something, the other title she had, she'd been called many things in her (presumably) _long_ life. But if there's one thing she's never been called, it was weak.

With strength that could match the CPUs and the intelligence to go up against even Planeptune's magical tome, she was one hell of a force to be reckoned with.

But! On the bright side, at least Kei was back up. It required the help of the Blade of Untamed Winds, but she pulled through.

How did she know this?

That, of course, was because she was the crafter! And as with anything she crafted, she held knowledge and control over them. There was a distance limit to her control however, but her ability to detect their presence and anything close to them had no limits.

She should be up and running, but…

 _Ah…but this bed is so sooftt…_

She couldn't help but let herself sink into the fluffy pillow, feeling herself slowly drift away into sleep. When was the last time she went to sleep again? She couldn't recall, and 'sides, even gods needed sleep too…

* * *

"*Knock, knock* My lord, are you awake?"

"Mrr…? Five…Five more…minutes…"

"Very well."

…

…

…

"*Knock, knock* My lord, it has been 5 minutes."

"Oh…come on…"

…

…

…

"*Knock, knock* My lord, another 5 minutes has-"

"I-I know. I'm…waking up."

It was rather annoying because _exactly_ 10 minutes has passed since. Was Takeyama some sort of human clock or something?

Either ways, she swiftly scolded herself for falling asleep in a time like this and hopped out of the bed, doing some quick stretched to ready herself as she opened the door.

Takeyama was standing there, a towel in one hand and a cup of tea in another. There was a hint of excitement in his eyes, perhaps because he was standing before his god? She wasn't quite sure, she thought as she yawned.

And since he had already prepared the towel and all, she took off to the church's bathroom. It didn't have a warm bath, but a shower will do.

Also, that tea of his had quite the taste.

Back at the matters at hand however.

"Arfoire? The goddess of death? That is their purpose?"

Takeyama sounded surprised by this new information, but somehow she could distinctly guess that it was just a show. Those eyes of him show no signs of shock whatsoever, just pure calm stillness.

Hell, when she told that his CPU, his country's LEADER had just been taken captive and was about to (probably, most certainly) get killed, all he was a short gasp. The only time he _did_ show some signs of shock and anger was when she told him that a fallen god had completely wiped the floor with her.

Actually, that did bring up the question. _Why_ was it there? There was no reason for such a powerful being to be there, no less to help revive Arfoire. His strength far surpassed even Arfoire herself, so why?

No matter what excuse she tried to make up, no answer could justify such an odd event. It just…didn't make any sense.

But she set that question aside. For now, she looked at her possible combat options.

Her abilities hadn't changed much. The loss of her short sword can just be fixed by making/buying another one from a nearby mana and energy capacity hasn't dropped either. If anything, the lighter body _might_ cause her some problems.

Takeyama was…well, he said he'd be pretty well off fighting with just his fists, and had some talents in observation and analysis. Sounded more like an oracle than a priest, eh?

With all said and done, she relaxed herself and plopped down onto the bed, feeling the inviting embrace of the fluffy bed take her once more. There's nothing she could do now, and her spirit was still resting from the force 'eject'.

All she could do now was rest, and perhaps hope that Kei would pull through.

"Hah…"


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16**

* * *

"Hah…"

Somewhere in the confines of the Gamindustri Graveyard, Kei could be seen, her back slumped against a rocky wall as she messaged her foot. Her clothes were torn and all over the place, a look she definitely didn't want anyone seeing.

Not that it mattered, since the ones who inhabited this place was either scrapped game parts, dead human and monster corpses, and people who are trying to kill/convert her.

In fact, it was miracle that she had survived up 'til now. She may not have completed her true purpose of going and saving the other CPUs, on the contrary, she got Blanc and Linda trapped as well, but she was _alive_ at least.

Ventus was…well, _dead_.

She messaged her temples and sighed. It was better to steer away from thinking about him right now, especially with how she last saw him, stabbed right through with-

 _Stand up. They're coming._

A voice spoke to her, in that same emotionless, almost robotic voice. The same exact voice that had saved her so many times since her first awakening here. With some effort, she pulled herself up and hid herself.

Exactly as said, right at that moment, a group of undead critters began pouring out, looking and walking around aimlessly to search for _nutrition_. As this was a graveyard however, such a quest wasn't quite as easy as it sounded.

 _Once they're gone, go west._

You know, she was beginning to wonder who this voice belonged to. Obviously, it's not Ventus, or Linda, or Blanc, or even herself. It sounded too…uh, plain to belong to a human. She had a sneaking suspicion however that this was caused, directly or not, by Ventus in some way.

As commanded, once most of the zombies left, Kei left her hiding and went west, carefully trudging her way through with as little noise as possible, while also making sure not to hurt her injured foot any further. It's painful, you know.

 _What an insane 'adventure' this has been…_ She thought, each word fully dripping with sarcasm. That said, while insane, she could not deny the fact that there had been some enjoyment, even if that enjoyment ended up causing all hell to go loose.

But, meh, this was Gamindustri, and even the direst of all dire situations can be turned around with some effort and blessing from the gods (of plot).

Her spirits had been dampened from the recent loss, but, as a wise man once said: 'What doesn't kill you makes you stronger' And she'll make sure those words hold true.

Withstanding the pain from her aching foot, a wry smile blossomed on her face as she saw salvation, light breaking through the haze of the graveyard. A light at the end of the tunnel, the exit to this damned place.

It was time to rest, and to come back, hitting harder than before (hopefully).

"I was wondering where our rat escaped to. So here she was…"

"…Fuck."

But her captors weren't so kind to let her escape. Biting her bottom lip, she slowly turned around to face her opponent, Magic. As confident as ever, her scythe floating by her side, her lips twirled into a happy smile.

 _Battle imminent. Get ready._

Even now, the voice was still as plain as ever, if perhaps tinged with a slight worry.

A battle for survival, will now begin.

* * *

"So she got caught, huh…"

But, meanwhile, as Kei was confronted with her captor, Ventus was carefully observing their engage. The Blade of Untamed Winds' merging with Kei was a success, since he's able to view their battle from afar and all, but there was an odd feeling of uncertainty in her heart. Yes, that weapon will now respond to her, which was great, but she felt like there was _more_ to it.

Why was the merging done so easily? Why was Kei so good at avoiding most of those monsters? He merely assumed that it was due to her skill as a businesswoman, no realising that the sword itself was talking and helping Kei.

Even if she didn't know the full extent of it, the fact that Kei's standing was good enough she supposed. No reason to fret over it.

Back to her own situation however.

Her hopes of Arfoire's revival failing was near to none by this point (she still wished it would though), and no way in hell was she going to be able to gather enough strength to face off against that monster in such a short amount of time.

The situation was less than ideal, but she had to make due. The revival of a fake Arfoire would definitely throw an entire oil-dipped wrench into her plans after all. If she was defeated before the main plot even started, there'd be no chance for her to find her lost sister.

She sighed, casually twirling her long red hair around her fingers. It was a habit she formed when she was thinking about something, and she'd sometimes do it without realising.

As of current, Ventus was outside, back in normal clothing, a set of black jeans and a white t-shirt (with female undergarments as well), sitting on a bench as snow slowly piled up around her. The sounds around her muffled as snow built up.

People were coming and going, passing by and occasionally stopping to chat or whatnot. Each had their own unique routine to fulfil, all were oblivious to the dangers lying in the future.

It was almost ironic, as falling snow muffled most sounds in the vicinity, trapping the person outside in their own comfortable bubble, unaware of any dangers that might befall them. A perfect analogy, no?

For some reason, she was suddenly feeling nostalgic, a tinge of melancholy mixed in.

She shook herself out. Melancholy? What was she, some old man-, er, woman? She quickly dismissed the feeling, but as time went by, the feeling stayed. It even started to sting a little.

 _Is this body affecting my emotions too? I guess girls are more emotional, but still._

Perhaps it was, perhaps it wasn't. Whatever the answer may be, she didn't feel like sitting still anymore and walked away. Takeyama would probably get there looking fairly confused as to where she went, but him being him, he'll find out sooner or later.

Now now…A place to clear her head…When she thought about it, she didn't know much about stress relief in Lowee. Aside from the places that he could buy tea and cakes from, there was…a library? Like hell he'd spend his time there.

Maybe the ramen stall from last time? It was afternoon after all, and while it wasn't exactly the time to go for dinner, some grub might be nice. Actually, yeah. The more she thought about it, the more appealing the idea sounded, so she went off with ramen in mind.

To her surprise however,

"Steamax!"

"H-H-Huh!? W-W-Who a-are y-you!?"

Just as she arrived at the stall, Steamax was there, guzzling down a bottle of sake without much concern. As she arrived however, he spat it all out and backed away, his body trembling as she got closer.

At first glance, she thought he was just borderline rude, not remembering who she was after helping him out just days ago, but she quickly realised that: One, she was in her female body, and as such, he didn't recognise her. And two, he had a fear of women, which explains the reaction.

"I'm a girl now, but I'm Ventus. Ring any bells?"

"E-Eh?! Y-You were a girl!?"

"I _was_ a boy, now I'm a girl. No more questions. Now, sit down and clean yourself, you have sake all over."

He immediately, if a little stiffly, cleaned up his mess. She also ordered herself an extra-large special ramen, just to make sure she's got her belly filled. The two shared an awkward moment of silence between each other, one enjoying her bowl of ramen while the other was unable to comprehend why his friend and benefactor from yesterday had suddenly switched genders.

"So…"

Ventus said, stopping for a second to take a sip of green tea to clear her throat. A 'gulp?' was heard from Steamax, and,

"How's work treating you? Did your boss like the sword?"

A completely normal question that did not relate to her gender whatsoever. It took him some time (and a wake up call from Ventus) for him to finally answer, even if a bit shakily.

"H-He likes it, _I think_."

"…"

"…"

"…"

"…"

The silence between them was almost suffocating, with only the soft slurps and gulps Ventus was making as she delighted herself in some special edition ramen. Seriously, it was really good.

The gruffy old man pointed his fingers at a bottle of sake and Ventus politely declined, feeling that she probably shouldn't get drunk, especially with all that's going down. The man shrugged his shoulders and continued on with his work.

"…"

"…"

And still, Steamax hadn't established a single line of conversation. He was looking down, perhaps embarrassed by the beauty (self-proclaimed) sitting next to him. The half-empty bowl of ramen waited for him to continue eating.

…

…

O-kay, she's had enough.

"Oi."

"H-Hai!?"

"Are you _seriously_ not asking why I'm suddenly female? Man up dude." She said as casual as ever, slinging her arms around his (trembling) shoulders, earning her a soft yelp from the poor ninja-robot.

"I-I-I mean, w-wouldn't you be d-disturbed…?" Steamax weakly replied, relieved as Ventus pulled back her arm and continued eating.

"Nah, I'm cool with it. *Slurp* Besides, we're friends now, right? So ask away."

Steamax was pleasantly surprised, some parts due to the odd mismatch between her appearance and speech, but mostly to the feeling of closeness he felt from her, almost as if they've been work partners for years.

"And before anything else, finish your ramen, now. It's getting soggy."

* * *

Their meeting ended much more smoothly than she had ever expected.

After she managed (somewhat?) to calm the trembling gynophobia suffering ninja-robot down, she gave him a fabricated half-truth about how she managed to switch genders. The reaction she got from him actually made her feel slightly happy.

She played it off lightly, saying that she was a special soul, an existence born with two split bodies, a male and a female. Due to this, he had been shunned by many people and was forced to become a wandering traveller and smithy. While she was on a mission however, a really strong monster appeared and killed the male her, causing her soul to inhabit her female body.

Because of that, her friends were trapped inside the Gamindustri Graveyard, and were now suffering from the monsters lurking inside. She would've gone if she could, but with her current strength, she would just get killed again, bringing her here.

So her story went. She said all that as lightly and as casually as she could

While she was telling all this, he stayed silent, listening intently. He even gobbled up all the remaining ramen just so she would continue (since she was getting tired of seeing that ramen go to waste). By the end of it, with some effort and a mild blush, he silently placed his hand on her shoulders, perhaps empathizing with her. It was…somewhat touching, since while the split body thing wasn't fully correct, the 'friends trapped in graveyard' part certainly was.

After a short moment of silent understanding, the two parted ways, with Steamax having to return to his boss to 'report his findings and mostly likely get yelled at again', while Ventus was off to the church to…well, she wasn't quite sure.

Also, she was soon shocked to find that Takeyama had been viewing (s-stalking!?) her from afar, watching as she and Steamax had their exchange. Should she thank him for not butting in, or rebuke him for the fact he just _watched_ her from afar like some kind of stalker?

 _And he shrugged it off saying, 'My task is to watch you, my lord.' With the straightest face! What's up with that!?_

While she hadn't noticed it, Takeyama was glad to see she was back. Seeing her all tense and worried was something he would never enjoy.

With a small smile on his face, he silently followed his lord back to the church.

* * *

 _"…Ventus."_

 _"Zzz…"_

 _"VENTUS!"_

 _"HYAHA!?" With the sudden blast to his ears, a young Ventus hopped out of his sleep, sweat drizzling down his face as he turned to see a fairly (very) angry Arfoire standing behind him, her eyes shining like a lion seeing its prey._

 _"A-Ahaha! H-Hello ma-!"_

 _" **Explain.** " She said coldly, cracking her fingers as she slowly stepped towards him. He probably heard the words 'Run' somewhere deep in his mind, b-but! E-Even if he's still new, he's gotten stronger now!_

 _"W-What if I-I say…no?" He gulped, barely managing to say those words as her stare intensified. W-Why is she getting angry anyways!? I just wanted to test out my new sword in this forest! Nothing's wrong!_

 _That's what he complained about, but perhaps, with a large number of trees torn down and a strip of empty land could now be seen in the forest, Arfoire's anger and annoyance was fairly justified, no?_

 _Of course, being the brat he was, he was getting the power over his head, as his left hand reached to pull the short sword from his waist and pointed it at her, his grin widening as Arfoire stood there, **very** unamused._

 _"Haha! T-Take this! [Tempest]!"_

 _The blade shined and a cyclone of wind began to gather around his sword, circling around it as it slowly grew in size, finally stopping when it reached the size of a truck. By this point, Arfoire was pissed. Not only did this kid have the bright idea of shooting a hole through the forest, but to also point the exact power he used to her?_

 _She sighed, knowing that, in the end, he was just a brat, and a new one at that. It had been her task to teach him how to handle his power correctly, so this was in part her fault as well._

 _"Wreak havoc!" He shouted with pride, as the cyclone of wind shot out towards her, tearing apart the land and any vegetation it crossed._

 _But his fun came to an abrupt end, when Arfoire pulled out her large bastard sword from the astral realm and slashed the incoming cyclone apart, cleaving the winds before any harm came her way._

 _"a-aah…" He sweat dropped, watching in futility as Arfoire slowly walked towards him, a cold smile attached to her face._

 _This was not going to be fun._

* * *

"For a bug you're persistent…"

CFW Magic muttered softly as she looked down, her feet pinning an injured Kei down on the tainted soil. A soft grunt escaped Kei's lips, and Magic smiled, a sense of euphoria cascading through her body.

The battle she had with her was…pathetic, uninspiring. All the worm could do was jump around and occasionally punch back, but all it took was a single kick to send her flying to the wall, and another kick to send her into the ground, destroying the wall with it.

And despite that, she was still living…interesting.

Why did this girl have so much endurance? For someone in her…early 20's she supposed, she was tougher than most of her subordinates, if not all of them. Then again, her attack prowess was none-existent.

But for Kei, her mind was somewhere else.

Sure, she was in pain, and sure, sooner or later, she'd suffer a condition called death, _but what was that dream she just saw?_ Just as she felt that second kick and her consciousness slipped, she saw it, that younger Ventus, 'trying' to fight against a beautiful white-haired woman.

And that blade, along with the word he said…[Tempest] was it?

 _Use it._

The voice said softly. A soft howl of wind passed by them.

 _Use it._

It repeated, and she recalled the words he shouted as wind began to gather. Wind began to pick up.

 _Use it._

The voice grew louder, and with it, the wind grew stronger. Magic looked up in confusion, wondering where all this wind was coming from.

 _Use it._

An image of a short sword appeared in her mind, one that was an exact copy of the one she saw in those dreams. Her hands gripped unconsciously, the winds growing violent and turbulent. Pieces of rocks and debris were being picked up into the air.

 _Use it._

Now Magic was fairly worried. _Where was all this wind coming from?!_ She looked around hastily to spot anything, but none. She looked down to Kei, but she was still unmoving, still pinned to the ground. The wind gathered up in the skies, forming into a black vortex.

A small smile bloomed on Kei's face as she felt energy surge into her, the winds bestowing upon her power she much needed. Slowly, she began to push back against Magic's leg, much to the being's growing surprise.

"T-This was your doing!?"

Magic jumped back and shot several velvet-coloured bullets at her, but the wind knocked them away. Slowly, Kei's left hand rose, and she opened her palms towards the vortex above, the winds circling around her.

Before finally,

 _Use it._

"[TEM…PEST]!"

All hell broke loose.

* * *

"What the…fuck?"

Roars of thunder and howls of wind shook through the afternoon sky, as an unending wave of violent winds blew into the snowy lands of Lowee. Not even the never-ending snowfall they prided themselves in could stop the incoming wave.

This was…severely out of her expectations.

She…knew that Kei had the Blade of Untamed Winds inside of her, and she planned for her to use it to escape or to at least fight back against CFW Magic, but…What. The. Fuck?

A vortex forming above her? Winds equal if not stronger than her [Ares' Chariot] (her current one that is), and those words, [Tempest]. _How the hell did she know that?_

No, the more pressing question was HOW she got that power. The blade was hand-crafted by her, but even when she wielded it back in her prime, it couldn't unleash even a tenth of the force she was outputting right now.

What. Is. Going. On.

Things going haywire was normal for her, and for anyone who lives in Gamindustri really, but the cause of this was her friend and a weapon she made herself. She knew full well the capabilities of that sword, and this was definitely not in the package.

This was wrong. _That_ was wrong. Holy shit, why was everything going wrong today!? Why was she getting _so worked up_ by this!?

 _Fuck, I have no time!_

"Takeyama! We're running!"

"Agreed."

Someday she's going to have to ask how the hell Takeyama stays so composed at moments like these. Clicking her tongue, she dropped all her activities and ran towards the Gamindustri graveyard, Takeyama quickly following behind.

At that day, Ventus learnt an important part about herself.

She hated surprises.


End file.
